The Peverell Girl
by KalKir
Summary: Harry Potter saved humanity but was at the cost of his own life. However, Death decided to grant Harry a second chance at life. However, things did not turn out to be as expected. Time Travel. Fem Harry. Rom: Fem Harry/TBD. Rating: T for now maybe M (Unlikely but possible. If so, possible violence, language, and/or mature theme) Bashing: Dumbledore and Ron (unless they a new leaf).
1. Meant for Entertainment

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** New story that I had for a while. Not really edited that well, but thought might as well post for now. Updates will be slow (like all my works) and may face possible Hiatus/Incomplete. Real life is annoying and I wish I had all the time in the world to just read and write fanfics.

Harry Potter saved humanity but was at the cost of his own life. However, Death decided to grant Harry a second chance at life. However, things did not turn out to be as expected. Fem Harry and Time Travel.

Romance: (Pair TBD) - To Be Determined

Genre: Leaning to Romance, Adventure, and some bad Comedy (still debating on this part)

Rating: T for now possible M (possible language, violence, mature content possible, but in the future chapters…. Really depends on how this turns out). Will be posted as T for now and switched if need be.

Some Dumbledore and Ron bashing may initially be involved unless the characters turn a new leaf.

Also, quite a good amount of Mary Sue style parts here and there (some readers did note that as well). If you are not a fan of such, possible horrendous writing, story that seems to be overcrowded with many issues, or just do not plain like me period. Please feel free to stop here and exit, or continue at your own risk. Reviews even to compliment or even complain (even if about issues stated above) are always welcome. I am a firm believer that not everyone likes how a story can go or likes a particular style and also without feedback, one cannot know if there are anything the writer is doing right or wrong.

Now that you have been warned and etc, hope you enjoy the story.

 **Chapter 1 – Meant for Entertainment**

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself in a white room sitting on a chair in front of a desk where a dark hooded figure with who was busily writing away on some parchment. He had no idea how he got here, just a moment ago, he was dueling Voldemort and when he was hit by the killing curse, and he suddenly found himself in this room. The figure looked up with an annoyed look and growled a bit.

"About time you woke up Mister Potter," the figure said.

"Pardon," Harry asked, "but who are you?"

The figure snorted and leaned forward, staring at him intently.

"Come now Mister Potter does the appearance not make it obvious?"

The figure leaned back on its chair dressed in a very dark tatter robe with the hood over its head. The figure actually looked hurt that Harry was not able to figure out who it was. It looked pointed at a scythe mounted on the wall behind it before looking back.

"…Death?" Harry asked.

Death applauded, clapping its skeletal hands slowly.

"Bravo, Mister Potter, bravo."

"So, I guess I'm dead then," Harry concluded.

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Death cried out while conjuring the House Point hourglasses showing ten gems fall down with a slot machine jackpot sound effects chiming away from around him.

"What happens now then? Do I go off to some comfy afterlife? Sent off into the fiery pits of doom? Be reborn as a new person? Cease to exist after this?" Harry asked.

With a dismissing gesture the hourglass vanishes and Death pulls out a pair of spectacles exactly the same as Dumbledore's puts it on its face and looks at him. Death even grew out a beard to match the look. Harry's eyes narrowed at the familiar man who sat across from him. As much as he respected the man in the past, he came to curse the man on his approach to manage Harry's life.

"Well, Harry, my boy," Death spoke imitating Dumbledore's voice. "You have done what you needed for the _Greater Good_. The prophecy was fulfilled in a sense and now that world is in a safer place. However, it was all at the cost of your life. While you have indeed killed Tom Riddle, he was still able to take you. However, that puts me in a bind as you were not supposed to have died."

Harry eyes narrowed in anger looked at Death in confusion. "I don't understand."

"The prophecy, boy!" Death called out. "You were supposed to be alive. However, I guess we could not help it when it was a faulty prophecy anyways."

"Faulty?" Harry asked looking very confused.

" _And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._ ," Death recited. "THAT part of the prophecy was all wrong. Sybill was supposed to state ' _and either must die at the hand of the other AS THE YOUNGER live while the other dies_.' You were of course younger than he was so you should have naturally lived. Unfortunately, we had to grab the closest seer available to send the bloody prophecy to you humans and I guess we had to call on the most incompetent seer of that generation. It also does not help that an old manipulative fool tried to turn things for his own benefit. And now that YOU are dead, this puts a blemish on my pristine record, after all I am the greatest to ever life."

Death's black soulless eyes twinkled like Dumbledore's as it said that unnerving Harry. It was one thing for Dumbledore to do that and Harry did not like the headmaster for his manipulative actions. For years the old man controlled him and restricted his options, forcing Harry to take the mantle as the sacrificial lamb to save the wizarding world when all he wanted was to live a normal life. Until the prophecy was revealed to him, he did not know why Dumbledore insisted on Harry to listen to him. After Dumbledore's death, things began to unravel and Harry began to realize just how much Dumbledore was setting him up for his final encounter. To be honest, it was outright failure. Dumbledore failed to train him properly and all the "special lessons" did more harm than good. To have Death imitate that man was a little too much.

It also did not help that Albus was someone Harry looked up to for guidance, only to realize that Dumbledore pretty much betrayed him by purposely failing to train him just to have Harry be killed off. It was even more infuriating that Dumbledore's portrait even admitted that he hoped that by having Harry be killed off, Voldemort would become vulnerable and could be finished off easily. Then Dumbledore would have been the vanquisher of two Dark Lords. Of course, Albus' own overconfidence led to his demise when he went after the ring on his own effectively putting a halt to his grand plan. Even then, he still hoped to have been known as the vanquisher of two lords before his death. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, it was not to be. Even more unfortunately, his actions led to many more to suffer and die.

"So, what happens to me then?" Harry asked, his voice nearly holding back quite a bit of frustration due to the reminder of Dumbledore's manipulation.

"You," Death points its finger at him while dropping the Dumbledore act. "Will be sent back so that you can actually live out your life as you were supposed to. However, since this was in a sense an internal department issue from our side for using an incompetent seer, we will compensate you for some things and make a few changes."

"I'm going back?" Harry asked.

Death nodded. "Yes, however, things will be quite a few things different and with Tom out of the scene, you can finally live your life… well unless something else fills in that void… probably the old fool."

"So no more horcruxes? No Voldemort?"

"Imprints of Voldemort will still exist just like painting of the deceased. However, Voldemort is no more."

"Alright, that sounds acceptable," Harry replied. "Also just to confirm, you stated that you give out prophecies? How does that work?"

Death pulls out a brochure from thin air and hands it to Harry to read as it explained the content.

"Whenever we believe it is necessary, we give the seers prophecies for them to relay to others. In fact, providing the prophecies is handled by one of my siblings, Fate. Fate believes that without throwing a prophecy here and there, there would be no progress in the world or entertainment… mainly for us. So, we send a few along to get the world moving. France was a fun one back in the 1400s. We decided to shake things up a bit and sent a prophecy that would have a woman leader in the muggle world. That is how Joan of Arc came into prominence. She was an energetic one and most definitely caused quite a riot during her time, though it was a pity her life was cut short."

Death chuckled dryly recalling the image showing Harry a quick rundown of Joan's life from birth to death. Harry paled a bit at the end, but was not as visibly shaken.

 _He's definitely developed some backbone._ Death thought.

"From what I am understanding," Harry replied. "Prophecies are in short complete baloney and mainly needed due to you and your siblings entertainment unless it is to give the world a kick start?"

"In the simplest form, yes. However, once an actual prophecy is made by an actual seer, it is set in stone. They have a unique magical ability and thus allows the magic to help enforce the prophecy to a degree. This is the reason why you still died as the seer who made the prophecy created an error on her end. It may be an error, but her magic enforced the error. In truth, anyone can make a prophecy, however only those who are born with the talent can actually activate a prophecy. There are cases where an exceptionally powerful seer may actually bring about a prophecy themselves, however, that seer is usually one blessed by Fate personally. And so far, I only know of two seers who were blessed by Fate personally and that was even before the Dark Ages."

"But that would mean my Divination class was a complete waste of time!" Harry cried out.

"Indeed. Another ten points!" Death crowed out while laughing. "It was so hilarious watching you listen to Sybill talking about your demise over and over again. It was a pity that Miss Granger left rather early though. It would have been entertaining to see how she reacted if she stayed another two more weeks. Spells would have been hurled around and detentions leading to more problems would have occurred. Alas, her leaving early resulted in a rather anticlimactic ending for that particular scene. But yes, divination overall is not something anyone can actually learn and do. Sure you can learn about it but to actually practice it, one must actually have some natural talent for it. Also such studies should really be held not as a class but rather as apprenticeships, although there still is not enough material to learn for either. You simply need to learn a little bit and have the skill. After all we are the ones providing much of the work."

"Going back to bringing me back alive, how is that going to work?" Harry asked, steering the question back on topic.

"Well, I will be making some new arrangements for you, and when everything is sorted, you can head right back to life your own life. You will be able to retain your old memories, we will unlock your magical core as well… yes your core was kept locked by the _lovely_ Albus Dumbledore." Death grinned seeing the anger in Harry.

"Oh and another thing, to make things easier for you I will throw in a few things such as improving your occlumency, magic, and other things. That way you do not have to take any more work in trying to 'free your mind.' After all, your control over your own mind was abysmal to begin with."

Harry sighed with relief. He hated learning occlumency due to his lessons with Snape and while it would have been useful, he never got to learn it. That resulted in Voldemort, Dumbledore, and many more to be able to try and read his thoughts.

"I will have to state though that other than your Cloak, you will no longer be in possession of the other two Hallows."

"Wait," Harry protested. "As I gathered the three Hallows, am I not your master and thus can keep it?

Death smiled in amusement. "That was something your ancestors made up. They thought that by beating me, they were masters of Death. Thus, they stated that the true master of death would be one who held all three. It was amusing to see some folks try and become my master, like that Grindelwald bloke. Running around like a headless chicken seeking to be my master. HA! AS IF THEY CAN!"

Death cackled for a bit and suddenly got serious and leaned over the table towards Harry, its face mere inches away from his.

"NO ONE is my master, Harry. It would be wise for you to remember that."

Harry felt a chill run down his spine and nodded shakenly stating he understood perfectly. Smiling, Death pulled back a bit and continued on.

"The only thing that gathering the three would allow is to be granted an audience with me," Death stated. "In fact, this talk would not occur and you would not have been granted another chance if you had not collected all three."

Harry nodded within understanding as Death continued.

"The Wand and Stone is not a necessity for you and I do know you do not need them anymore. You will be getting a new wand and it will be an interesting one at that I assure you. The Cloak? Well that I will let you have as it was only Ignotus Peverell who truly deserves to keep his claimed prize. Truly a humble and kind man. Thus, as his descendent, you are allowed to keep it. Only replicas of the other two Hallows will remain and neither will hold any actual power as before. The replica wand will simply be just another ordinary wand and the stone will just be a pretty gem. If you still wish to collect them you are free to do so, just you will not have the same results as before."

Death looked away thoughtfully for a moment as if pondering something before looking back at Harry.

"While I do not have to, I may drop by every now and then to check in with you. If you like you can even contact me, although I will not come at your own beckoning. After all, you are but a mere mortal. If however, I happen to find amusement in answering or if I am bored enough, I will come and see what can be done. I might even drop by directly once in a while to liven things up a bit for fun, who knows? Your life is in a sense a reality TV show for us here. Can't have the main character be boring now can we?"

Harry was at a loss at what to say so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Fantastic! Now if there is nothing else. I will be sending you back to the summer before your first year at Hogwarts. You will not have to worry about your aunt and her family as they believe that you died when your parents were killed. So, in this new life, you have never have stayed with them at all nor will they be aware of your existence."

 _That is not bad_. Harry thought.

"Mind you, by giving you this chance at life, you can make amends with those you have failed to previously. That is should you wish to make amends with them. Of course, this also gives you a chance to break any friendship that you wish you rather not have at all."

 _Of course I want to cut ties with some of them._ Harry thought as he went down the list. Ron was a backstabbing git. Always blaming him for things and then suddenly coming back acting as if nothing happened or like he forgave them. He never cared about others other than himself an even left Harry and Hermione when they needed him. In fact, he did not return to help at all until all the Weasleys came to support him on the final battle and dragged Ron with them. Heck, he was even blamed for Fred's death. Dumbledore treated him like a pawn to do his bidding and all those memories and evidence shown that he was clearly going to throw him away after his usefulness was done. Snape, well… as much as Harry hated to admit it, in the end he was alright. He made his life truly miserable, but he revealed the truth. It also did not help that Harry's father was also a complete dick towards others as well. The list for others goes on and on including people who wished to kill him.

If he was to go back, Harry decided that other than a select few, he would give others a chance. He will not be as forgiving as before, but he will give them a chance to prove themselves in this new life. If they push it, he will make sure they never get the chance to cross him ever again. It may sound harsh, but Harry was determined to protect his new life no matter the situation.

Death was right, this can be a chance to make amends with some. This was also a chance to ensure that those who cross him did not get in his way again.

Death smiled inwardly seeing Harry's thoughts. This may actually provide entertainment enough and change the story quite a bit. He was truly going to enjoy this quite a bit watching Harry's new life.

"If I do need anything else, I can call you?" Harry reconfirmed.

Death nodded, "Indeed. And if I do find it amusing, I will drop by. Oh and remember to drop by Gringotts as soon as you can and state that you need to take an inheritance test. There will be some changes so you might be in for some surprise."

"Inheritance test?" Harry asked puzzled.

Death mimed hitting its head. "I forgot, you only knew of the trust fund that your parents left you."

Harry looked very confused, but nodded cautiously.

"Well, you had a family vault as well which little Dumbles prevented access. However, we will be expanding on the vaults making it vital that you check with Gringotts early. That should make things a lot easier for you."

Harry noted the mischievous grin before nodded once more. Whatever Death was up to, he is going to be ready for it. "Then I'm ready."

Death smiled and nodded. "We shall see you soon. Remember to keep us entertained. After all, your new life is handed to you on a silver platter."

As Death snapped his fingers, Harry saw the office and Death disappear as he felt himself falling down into the darkness.


	2. Start of a New-Old Life?

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 2 –** **Start of a New/Old Life?**

Harry woke up feeling rain pouring down on him. He pulled himself up and took note of his surroundings. It evening and he was in dark alleyway and from the looks of it just a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron. He brushed himself absentmindedly before pausing for a moment. Everything seemed a lot bigger than before. He turned around quickly to get a look of his surroundings and saw a reflection in the window that made him stop in shock.

Staring back at him from the reflection was a young girl with long black hair staring right back at him with her green eyes. She was wearing a dirty white shirt and a pair of torn jeans. He reached to touch his face and noticed the girl mirrored his movement. Harry moved around a bit just to make sure and noticed the girl in the reflection doing the same movement as him. He examined himself once more and noticed the girl was doing the same thing as an act of final inspection, he felt himself down there hoping to feel Little Harry. His eyes widened at the confirmation. Harry Potter was a girl. In fact, he was just not a girl but a young girl, looking no older a first year.

"Death!" Harry turned, screaming its name and hearing a young feminine voice shrill out instead.

A rustle behind him made him turn back to the window and seeing a parchment attached to the window next to it was about a hundred Galleons. He took the Galleons and snatched the parchment and noted a small circle that stated "Press here" it, the contents obviously from death. Harry pressed the circle mark in the paper and a dark inked image of Death appeared on the parchment. The inked image moved back and forth a bit as if doing something. Had Harry not been so upset, he would have found it to be quite amusing at the comically drawn Death appearing on the parchment and clearing its throat before speaking.

 _ **RECORDING**_

 _Death: "Ahem. Is this thing on? Are we recording? Can you see me? Bah! Who cares! As long as the message can be received then it works. *Image starts shaking a bit* Fate! Hold it steady, dammit! Alright, here we go! Hello, my dear Mister… opps I mean Miss Potter. I hope you enjoy this wonderful surprise. Unfortunately, we ran out of "materials" to complete you into a boy and so we have to make due…"_

 _*Chuckling and laughing noises were picked up in the background*_

 _Death *off to the side*: "Shh! I'm trying to be serious here!"_

 _Voice: "Hey! Only Sirius Black is serious! And he failed at it!"_

 _Death: "Time! You are not helping!"_

 _Time: "But it's the truth! His made himself to be a jokester."_

 _Death *voice clear again*: "Ahem! Anyways, we noticed you have realized that you are now…"_

 _Voice 2: "A woman! HA! This is going to be so..."_

 _Time: "A girl, Fate! She is not quite a woman yet!"_

 _Fate: "Right! Puberty!"_

 _Time: "In time!"_

 _Death *voice muffled a bit again*: "Time! Can't you and Fate just zip it for a moment?"_

 _Fate and Time: "No!"_

 _*Grumbling could be heard as sounds of more laughter emitted from the letter*_

 _Death *voice no longer muffled*: "ANYWAYS, due to certain circumstances we regret to inform you are no longer a male."_

 _*Sounds of snickering ensues in the background*_

 _Death: "So yes! Please take note of that change and mind you that it is not irreversible. Potions and spells will not be able to help you with that, so just live like a girl. I am sure…"_

 _Fate: "We!"_

 _Death: "Yes, yes. WE are sure things will be alright. Other than that and a few other changes, we have tried to keep some things as close to how things were as possible… not really. HOWEVER! Please remain calm and just go with the flow… I guess is what the phrase is. So, here is some update for you that you can familiarize yourself with. You have been sent back in time a bit, we won't say when. I mean I did tell you before you left, but if we did tell you in detail, that would be too generous on our part."_

 _Time *its hood peering in from the side of the parchment*: "You already are giving away too much info, Death! Even giving her some start up cash!"_

 _Death *pushes Time away*: "You are not supposed to even be on this!"_

 _Fate: "Maybe I should add a prophecy to spice things up a bit."_

 _Time *groaning*: No, Fate. You had your fun and it was in a sense your fault for using that seer."_

 _Fate: "My fault? Why I should…"_

 _Death *interrupts*: "AHEM! Anyways, you will notice some changes and we hope that you make use of it. You will also notice soon that there will be some things that are much easier for you to do such as wandless magic. Oh! And also you no longer need glasses as you can see clearly… obviously. These are just some of our gifts as apologizes for taking away your manhood."_

 _*Sounds of laughter came from Death and from the other two*_

 _Death *wiping away a fake tear*: "In order to make sure that you would be more accustomed to being a girl, we have made it so that it will be easier for you to get use to the change. We know that you do not like anyone to manipulate you, BUT, we thought that may have made things better and allow you to move along faster."_

 _Time: "Yup! You should be getting used to thinking of yourself as a girl soon."_

 _Fate: "A cute widdle girl!"_

 _Time: "Aww!"_

 _Death: "Oh! To give you some last tidbits of information, as you have gone to the past, I say change it up if you wish. Make it fun and exciting! We don't want to see the same thing again, unless there is a twist to it. Yes we are giving you a chance to do whatever you wish!_

 _Fate: "Just how generous can we be? I never known anyone else who was this generous to allow someone change time as they wish. What say you Time?_

 _Time: "Never in my 'Time' was anyone given such a chance. It truly is an honor."_

 _Death *groans again at the horrible joke and looks back and chuckles once more* Anyways. Hope you enjoy your time! Toodles!"_

 _*Roll to end credits and blanks out*_

 _ **END RECORDING**_

Harry stared for a moment, dumbfounded by Death's recording as the parchment faded away into nothingness. He wanted an explanation and all they had was a pathetic excuse that they ran out of material to turn him into a guy? He fumed for a while, but realized that just standing there was not going to help and he was after all stuck in this body.

He look looked at the window once more seeing the look of dismay from the girl's face. While he was still angry, he decided to check himself out more thoroughly and see exactly what the damage was.

He still had his green eyes, his black hair framed his small heart shaped face and flowed down in soft waves, reaching to his upper waist. He also noticed that his skin complexion was soft and smooth. Looking carefully, he noticed two small but noticeable bumps coming from his chest area. After checking himself out, he reluctantly admitted that he was a cute and pretty young girl. A girl that is just about to his puberty.

 _Oh gosh_. He thought. _I have to deal with freaking PMSing from now on_.

While such thoughts and others did not comfort him much, Harry reluctantly surrendered himself to that fact that he, now she, would likely have to live her life as a girl…. for now. After all, there are other things she needed to do.

As Harry calmed herself down a bit, she decided to follow Death's advice and check out Gringotts immediately. She rushed over to the Leaky Cauldron and walked in. Inside there were a few elderly folks who looked as they were dressed for the renaissance. At one corner was a bar and behind it was Tom, the bartender, who was passed out bottles of Butterbeer to a few clients who eagerly paid for the drinks. Harry quickly moved through the crowd and headed to the back avoiding Tom who glanced at her curiously. Luckily as the day was slowly coming to an end, there were several witches and wizards coming through the archway that connected the Cauldron to Diagon Alley. Harry quickly slipped by the crowd that was exiting and made a short jog to the bank.

The bank was still opened and Harry walked in passing by the warning sign that she remembered when she first walked into Gringotts.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

She noticed that the goblins were helping the remaining witches and wizards who were shortly preparing to leave the building as more began to close their stations. Harry quickly went over to one who looked down at her with a scowl as she approached.

"We are closing for the day, miss." The goblin stated firmly.

"Please, sir," she pleaded. "I do understand that this is already late, but would it still be possible if I could do my blood heritage test?"

The goblin sneered and was about the say no when another voice interrupted.

"Sharpclaw, I will take care of her personally so you may finish your end."

The gobbling turned in shock to see another goblin addressing him and bowed respectfully at the other goblin. The gobbling was very familiar though she had a hard time recalling where she met this goblin.

"Of course, Ragnok."

Immediately, memories began to flood her. This was Ragnok, the goblin who Bill tried to convince to join their cause in her previous life. She realized he would have to be quite careful around him knowing that Ragnok was wary of wizards due to many of them breaking their promises with him and his fellow goblins.

The other goblin walked beckoned her to follow. Harry followed the goblin behind the tables and into the hallway leading to an office. Ragnok motioned her to sit and she did as she thanked him politely causing him to raise his eyebrows a bit. He took at seat behind the table and looked at Harry who took a brief look around the room before seeing the name plaque on his desk.

 _Ragnok, the Wise_

 _Second Prince of the Goblin Nation_

 _Executive Director of Gringotts branch of England_

 _Crap._ Harry thought immediately. She knew Ragnok carried weight in his actions, but she did not realize that he was actually related to the goblin royal line. Knowing that she was in the presence of royalty she immediately got up to show her respects which Ragnok immediately waved away with an amused look.

"Sit down young lady. There is no need for any formalities. I may be the second prince, but unless my brother and all his children are wiped out, I will not be sitting on that blasted throne. There is a reason why I took up the position as Director. So how can Gringotts help you?"

"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Sir Ragnok," Harry replied. "I was recently notified to take a blood heritage test and came here at the soonest moment possible. I do understand that this is quite late, but would be grateful if I could take the test anyways."

Ragnok looked at the girl thoughtfully. Perhaps it was due to her being young or perhaps she has not been spoiled by the pureblood bigotry, but she shown respect to him and to Sharpclaw as well. A fairly uncommon attitude.

"Would you like the basic, the normal, the extensive, or the full heritage test? The basic will only search back up to the past five generations costing ten Galleons. The normal heritage test which goes back to ten generations costing twenty Galleons. Those that wish to look up to twenty generations would have to use the extensive test which cost fifty Galleons. Finally, there is the full heritage test which provides extensive information on what is available going back to the founding of your ancestor. That would cost you a hundred Galleons."

"The full heritage test please," Harry replied, pulling out the Galleons and handing it over to Ragnok.

Ragnok's eyebrows rose slightly with mild interest seeing the little girl in tattered clothing pull out the required Galleons. One hundred Galleons was not a small amount especially for someone who seemed to look like they live in destitute. Without replying, Ragnok took the Galleons and pulled out a draw from his desk. Within it were four colored parchments of white, bronze, silver, and gold. Ragnok pulled out a gold parchment that was blank and also pulled out a ceremonial knife. He placed the parchment in front of her and handed her the knife and cloth.

"Please drop at least three drops of blood onto the parchment, the wound made from the knife will automatically heal after a few seconds. Please wipe the excess blood with the cloth."

She nodded and sliced her palm a bit, and let a few drops of blood drip onto the paper. The drops immediately disappeared into the parchment and words began to appear on the golden parchment.

 _Name: Harriet Jade Potter (age 10)_

 _Father's Name: James Potter – Deceased 31 October, 1981_

 _Mother's Name: Lily J. Potter (née Evans) – Deceased 31 October, 1981_

 _Sibling: Harry James Potter – Deceased 31 October, 1981_

 _Heiress to the following Houses_

 _Noble family of Potter (by father's side) Status: Active_

 _Noble family of Peverell (by father's side) Status: Inactive_

 _Noble family of Gryffindor (by father's side) Status: Inactive_

 _Noble family of Hufflepuff (by father's side) Status: Inactive_

 _Noble family of Ravenclaw (by mother's side) Status: Inactive_

 _Noble family of Slytherin (through cadet line) Status: Active_

 _Noble family of Black (heiress presumptive) Status: Active_

 _Access to all properties and investments belonging to the Houses and access to Wizengamot Seats upon reaching adulthood._

 _Will of the Potters available for immediate access._

Harry looked at the parchment in surprise. Potter, Black, and Peverell she knew, but the four founders was a huge surprise for her. Wasn't Hephzibah the descendant of Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw should have no living heirs or heiress. The other two she could speculate, but like the others, still quite a surprised.

Harry heard a faint chuckle and looked up seeing the Goblin merely looking back at her as the faint chuckling continued.

 _Ha. Ha._ She thought at the laughter. Clearly this is one of their "some things" Death mentioned about. She continued to read the rest of the parchment.

The information continued with a family tree slowly appearing tracing back Harry's heritage a few generations. As she looked at the parchment awe, she was distracted by a faint glow coming from a box that sat on the corner of the desk. Ragnok leaned forward and opened the lid of the box to pull out a folder with various documents contained in it.

"Ah, perfect, it looks like paperwork that is related to you have been sent to us," Ragnok stated as he sifted through the documents and pulled some out and handing it to her.

"You might find this useful for now."

Harry took the document and looked at what appeared to be a ledger and was completely stunned. If she was reading it correctly, the number of Galleons she had from all the accounts, assets, and investments easily made her one of the wealthiest magicals in all of Britain. But there was another thing that caught her attention more. His male self, who apparently was her brother now, died during the night Voldemort attacked him and she was the apparently the twin child of James and Lily. Tears came down slightly as she took note of the information. While there were some changes in her life now, Death still allowed her to keep that connection with her past. Ragnok peered at the parchment and stared in surprise.

"Well, well. So the line was still intact. We were wondering where you have been Miss Potter. Of course, the whole world thought your family was dead. I must say it was quite a surprise to see that you are indeed well."

She continued to read the parchment again, and stared in surprise. Not only was she a Potter, but she was still descended from the Peverells and apparently all four Houses of Hogwarts as well if indirectly with some.

 _Bloody hell!_ She thought.

"I would say the same," Ragnok stated. She blushed a bit realizing that she spoke out loud.

"Sir, the parchment states that there is a will available. I do understand that normally the will has to be read with those in the will."

Ragnok looked at the parchment once more and rang a bell from his desk and immediately another goblin appeared.

"Please bring me the will for the House of Potter."

The goblin bowed and left only to return with a folder and a small box a few moments later. During that time, Harry (now Harriet) looked at the parchment and noted a miniature family tree symbol with the words "to further access the family tree in depth say 'open' and 'close' when finished," in the bottom corner.

"Open," she stated firmly.

The golden parchment then expanded to reveal the extended family tree. She looked at it in awe but realizing that it would take time, she closed the family tree back when the other goblin arrived and passed the items to Ragnok.

Ragnok took the folder and box and dismissed the goblin. Within the folder held several envelopes and of them, he pulls out a sealed envelope that glowed slightly.

"The parchment stated that the will is available for immediate access. This would mean that as long as there is one member in the will that is related to the family present, the will can be read. Your parents have made several wills where only one would be activated depending on how the situation came to be. This glowing envelope signifies that with the way events unfolded, this would be the will to be read while the other wills are to be disposed. I have to say, I am very impressed. They were quite thorough in covering many likely situations. Would you like to read the contents of this will, Miss Potter?"

"Yes, please."

Ragnok hands her the envelope who proceeded to open it and read the contents of the will.

 _THE WILL OF JAMES AND LILY POTTER_

 _We, James and Lily Potter, in our clear and sound mind declare this as our last will and testament._

 _We would like to first bequeath to our friend Remus John "Moony" Lupin the contents in Vault 642. Upon receiving this, Remus, you are required to actually buy some decent clothing for yourself. We know that you keep stating that you are alright with what you have and you always spend your Galleons on others. You are not allowed to do so with this gift. Should you fail to do so, we shall haunt you from beyond the grave. Well, not really, but still please do get something nice for yourself._

 _To Sirius Orion "Padfoot" Black, we bequeath to you the contents in Vault 637 (not that you really need it), but make sure you use it and actually settle down with a lovely girl. It is about time that you need to find someone in your life and you better make her happy._

 _To Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew, if you are all are reading this particular will, then that means you have been the one to betray us. We hope that this will not be the case, but if it is, we are disappointed and hurt that you would betray us when we thought of you as a brother._

 _The remainder of our possessions will be split between our children, Harry and Harriet. To clarify this confusion, we had a daughter as well. Harriet Jade Potter, Harry's younger twin sister. We sent her off to live with our babysitter and her family, Alexis Mannings (a muggleborn) due to the war and conflict as we reside temporarily in Godric's Hallow. They along with their godparents are the only ones who knew of her real identity._

 _Should they be underage, we desire to have them be placed under guardianship in the order listed below until their 10_ _th_ _birthday. If they have reached their 10_ _th_ _birthday, then the following list in regards to guardianship may be ignored as we will allow them to be emancipated early at the age of 10._

 _List of Guardians_

 _Sirius Black (Harry's Magical Godfather)_

 _Remus Lupin (Harriet's Magical Godfather)_

 _Frank and Alice Longbottom (Harry's Magical Godmother and Allies)_

 _Alexis Mannings (Harriet's Magical Godmother)_

 _Amelia Bones (Old Family Friend and Ally)_

 _If none of the above guardians are available, then the children are to be raised by the Head of Houses of Hogwarts Filius Flitwick or Minerva McGonagall (Hopefully Flitwick and McGonagall are still there, if so, hope you do not mind). We would like our children to grow up knowing the ways of the world of magic. Under no circumstance should our children be sent to Lily's sister Petunia Dursley (née Evans) and her husband Vernon Dursley. As much as Petunia is a dear sister to Lily, they do not wish to associate themselves with magic and we wish to respect their wish._

 _If we are dead, then under no situation should Albus Dumbledore be allowed to control any of the Potter possessions, Wizengamot seats, or guardianship of our children. If this will has been activated over the other ones, then that means that he has betrayed us as well. Yes, we have made several wills all magically set to have only one open and become the valid will depending on how situation unfolds. Lily has always been known to be thorough in whatever she put her mind to._

 _To our children, Harry and Harriet. We are sorry that we are no longer a part of this world. However, know that we will always be there for you. Do not let our deaths burden you. Enjoy life as you see fit and live it! No matter what happens, we know you will do us proud and wish you both a wonderful life. Until we meet again._

 _James and Lily Potter. Evigila_

Suddenly as Harry finished reading the letter to the last word, she started convulsing sliding of her seat and falling to the ground. Images flashed before her as she heard various muffled voices and shouts. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound was made. Images continued to flash by, pain searing through her whole body and mind. For what seemed like an eternity she was suddenly pulled back by a voice.

"Miss?"

The voice caused her to jerk in shock and all of a sudden, the pain she felt disappeared. Harry looked around and she found herself still sitting on the chair, the letter still held firmly in her hand.

"Are you alright?" Ragnok asked with a slight worried look.

"Did you not see what happened?" She asked.

"See what?"

"I… I was on the floor and I felt so much pain," Harry started and saw Ragnok shake his head.

"I am afraid you are mistaken. You have been sitting the whole time, quit still for some time," he replied.

Harry, well Harriet, looked at Ragnok clearly confused before looking back at the letter once more before passing the will back to him allowing him to read it as well. As Ragnok browsed over the will, Harriet started sorting out the images and the mess of what just happened. They were memories, memories of the Harriet's life before Harry came to this world. She remembered the night when Alexis was murdered a few years ago. A thief came in and was rummaging through the house when Alexis and Harriet walked in. Surprised, the thief drew a gun at Alexis and shot at her. Wounded, Alexis fought against the stranger yelling at Harriet to run. Eventually, she learned that Alexis and her family was all murdered by the thief who was later arrested and taken away. She never got the change to know what happened to the family remains or of the murderer. Since then, Harriet was sent to an orphanage until she ran away from it and found herself a few blocks of the Leaky Cauldron before Death intervened. Of course that was all her memories of this world not Harry's.

"Well," she said slowly. Digesting all the information and remembering what the will stated. "I guess I am an adult then?"

Ragnok nodded as he finished the letter.

"Indeed. And as your late brother has also departed this world and with no one who could legally act as your head of house, that means you are the sole inheritor for the entire fortune."

"And how am I to officially inherit my fortune?" she asked.

Ragnok simply opened the small box that the other goblin brought in. Inside were seven rings.

The golden Potter ring, the dark Black ring, the silver ring with the Peverell crest on it, and four other rings with their respective House colors for the four Founders of Hogwarts.

"Simply wear the rings on your rings on your index finger and they will combine as one ring. Once combined and should you wish to, you can remove the rings and separate them or will to show whichever ring you wish to appear. Only you will be able to remove the ring and no one can remove them even by force or magic. Of course, that is if the rings do accept you as the Head of House. Any of the inactive Houses will activate if the rings do accept you as the new head."

He gestured to Harriet to take the rings and she did. Placing one ring on her index finger at a time, she show each ring glow as they merged together. As the last ring joined the other six, a brilliant light shone from the rings. Knocking her unconscious. She came to with the help of the goblins, but felt a massive headache as if a train just ran through her head.

"Ah, I forgot to mention, some Houses may bestow some gift to the Head of House usually with some information. Judging by how you black out for a few minutes and not just have a headache, I would say that it was rather quite the amount of information that was presented to you."

Harriet rubbed her forehead a bit trying to orientate herself. This was the second time she lost awareness today and she did not like that. As she settled herself, she noticed the new accessory on the hand.

The new ring was a solid silver band that wound around with the crest of each house engraved along the outside surface of the ring.

"It looks liked all the rings have accepted you as the true Head of House. That ring there," Ragnok states while pointing at the ring. "Is the default ring that shows which Houses you are the Head of. Again, if you wish to summon a particular ring you just need to will that ring to appear and your default ring will be replaced by that ring."

Harriet nodded stating she understood. Ragnok rang the bell once more and several moments later a few other goblins walked into the office. Several were clearly upset as it was apparent that they were about to leave, but seeing Ragnok glare at them silenced any potential complaint from them. However, two of them seemed eager and excited. There was an elderly goblin and a young one who looked at the young girl with curiosity. Ragnok introduced the goblins and the accounts they oversaw to Harriet. Most merely nodded and one nearly even sneered at her, but the two friendliest goblins, who were introduced as Granrod and Bankrat, actually walked up to her and shook her hand and she returned their greetings as well.

"As you can see, Miss Potter, with several accounts, we have had several of us handling the accounts. However, I believe that we can consolidate the accounts where one goblin should manage all of it for you, that way it would be easier."

"I would appreciate that very much. However, I would like to keep the accountant for the Black's separate in case the rightful Lord of the House returns. While he may be imprisoned, he may be cleared of all charges and be allowed to return to his own fortunes." Harriet stated.

Ragnok raised his eyebrows, intrigued at how the girl knew her godfather was imprisoned and making sure to keep her finance and his separate in case he was to be found innocent. The Goblins of course knew he was innocent, but made no mention to deal with the situation as it was legally not their issue.

The goblin who managed the Black's account, one of the indifferent ones, was a little taken aback. He expected to lose one of the larger accounts from his portfolio, but the young girl wished for him to remain and continue handling it for her. He bowed a bit more graciously towards her indicating that he accepted her request.

"As for the Potter and the Peverell accounts, I would like to have the Misters Bankrat and Granrod to be consolidate the accounts as one account and have both handle my account is that is alright?"

The Ragnok merely nodded and dismissed the other four goblins out as the elder goblin, Granrod, and the younger one, Bankrat, both bowed to her in respect.

"Very well," Ragnok replied. "Those two shall handle your new account with Granrod as the Senior Account Manager of the two for your account."

"Thank you very much, Sir Ragnok," Harriet replied.

Ragnok waved a dismissive hand. "Please, Ragnok will do, Miss Potter."

"Then I insist that you and others call me Harriet, Ragnok," she stated smiling at the three goblins.

The goblin stared in shock at her for a moment before grinning.

"Then we shall, Harriet," he replied. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Harriet thought for a moment and answered. "Yes. I was wondering if it would be possible to have my legal name be different."

"Oh?"

"You see, as it seems that the world thinks my family is dead and there are a few that I would rather not notify that I am indeed alive. Thus, I was wondering if I could be able to change my last name at least."

"There are two ways we can do so, Harriet," Ragnok replied. "The easiest way to change your name in your situation is to use the surname of one of the Houses you are the head of. We can utilize the existing information and create a new identity that way. Once done, all your legal documents including those at the Ministry will have you on file with that name."

"And the other option?"

"If you wish to have a complete different identity, but still be connected to your old Houses, we can do so. This process will be similar although trying to manipulate the information for your identity will be a bit more difficult. While we may have to go through the usual channels in the Ministry, we can still expedite the process and ensure that all documents are available for a small fee of course," he stated with a grin.

"Then I would like to change my surname then. As the people believe the line of Potters is dead, it will be better to let it remain."

"Which would you like to change to?"

She decided that using any of the four Founders would not help which left both the Blacks and the Peverells. The Blacks had a conflicting history within the past few decades that would either be beneficial or harmful depending on who she interacted at the moment. The Peverells still had some fame due to the story of the Peverell brothers. She flipped a mental coin toss and chose the Peverells.

"Peverell please."

Ragnok pulled another parchment out and handed it to her. It was a simple form that asked for her name and the name she wished to change to. She then signed her name and next to each name stamped the respective seals of the Houses of Potter and Peverell. And handed it back to the goblin.

"Well then it seems we are all in order," Ragnok stated as he look at the clock on his desk. "It also seems like we are running quite a bit over. If you have other pressing businesses that needs to be addressed, would it be alright to come by tomorrow and speak with your account managers?"

Harriet nodded. "Yes, that would be most appreciated. I do have just one quick question. Would there be any convenient way to access my vault? I do not have any coin with me other than what I originally had."

Ragnok chuckled a bit making Harriet raise her eyebrows a bit. Bankrat brought forth a small pouch with draw strings that kept the pouch closed.

"This item here will connect directly to your vaults and allow you to draw your money," Bankrat stated handing the item to her.

"With this, you do not have to worry about visiting the vaults for any money, Harriet. Unless you are needing a particular item from the vaults any amount of coin you need can be withdrawn from this bag as long as you have coin in your vault. The pouch can be used both here in the magical world and non-magical world. In the non-magical world, when you use the pouch, it will take the shape of a wallet when being used. This bag also have a feature where if you drop your blood on the bag before activating it, only the one who bled on the bag would have access to it. Of course it does come with a small fee. A fee which I assure you would not put a dent in your finances."

Harriet looked surprised at this. This definitely beats carrying sacks of coin all over Diagon Alley like Harry did long ago.

"Thank you for this information, Bankrat," she exclaimed bowing low to him in thanks. "And yes, having such an item would be wonderful if you can have one ready for me. Also thank you for taking the time to help me even though it is already late. It was truly a pleasure to have met you all. I shall take my leave now."

Ragnok smiled once more to her. "The pleasure was mine, Harriet. While we may not see each other often, I do hope to see you soon. Till then, I wish you luck."

Harriet left Ragnok's office but not before setting up a time to meet up with Granrod and Bankrat later in the following morning.

When she left the building, she realized that night had fallen and the street lights lit the path for her back to the Leaky Cauldron. When she passed through the archway, she looked around the pub noticing that quite a few people were taking their meals here and taking a drink before heading off. At the bar she noticed Tom helping some wizards who were sitting at the bar. She walked up to the bar and caught his attention.

"Oh, I know you." Tom stated causing Harriet to fear if her identity was already blown.

"You are that girl who passed through here a little earlier."

Harriet relaxed a bit and nodded.

"Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if I may speak with you in private for a bit," she asked.

Tom nodded and motioned her to a corner seat away from the others. She requested a more private area and he took her to one of the back rooms and indicated for her to take a seat in one of the chairs as he took another.

"What can I do for you, miss?" Tom asked.

"Jade, sir." she promptly replied reaching out to shake his hand. "I was wondering if I would be able to rent one of the rooms till the end of summer.

Tom leaned back and looked at her with a suspicious expression.

"Not sure if a little girl like you should be wondering about all alone without your parents or guardian."

"You see sir, I recently went to Gringotts and found I was just recently emancipated."

"Emancipated?" Tom nearly shouted in shock. "But you look like you are just a First Year! What happened to your parents, child?"

"Unfortunately, they passed on a while ago and I now have some confliction and issues that is House business that needs to be sorted. I believe that may take a while and since I am here, I thought it may be a great idea to also take my time shopping for my school supplies," she replied.

"Also, I just want to find a nice quiet place to relax at and my home is not available at the moment due to this recent change. Money at the moment is not an issue as well, sir."

Well it was true, she really did not want to even spend a night with the Dursleys, her list of guardians are either hard to reach or unable to be reached at the moment, and she is not sure if there is any place that she owns that she can spend the night yet.

Tom studied her carefully for a moment, his suspicions fading away as his expression softened. He named a figure for one Galleon to rent a room until the end of summer. At first Harriet insisted on paying more, but when Tom refused to budge, she agreed and paid for the room upfront thanking him profusely. They got up and led her upstairs to one of the rooms. When he opened the door, he showed Harriet a small room with a comfy looking bed in the center and a few drawers and wardrobes lining around the wall. Walking in, she noticed there was a full bathroom on one side. She nodded in satisfaction to Tom who merely grunted and walked off.

"Breakfast starts at six if you are interested," He called.

"Thank you, Tom," she called back and closed the door.

Harriet got out her clothing and climbed into the bathtub and took a nice bath. After soaking in the tub and relaxing for a while, she scrubbed herself clean and quickly dried herself. She looked at her clothing and decided to at least wash them and hang them to dry in the bathroom overnight as she had no other clothing. She scrubbed at her clothing, removing much of the dirt and wrung them out to dry. Once done, she felt her stomach grumbling a bit. While she forgot to eat, her body demanded sleep more right then. Not to mention she was currently stark naked as she left her only clothing to dry. So, she dutifully dragged herself to the bed and got under the covers.

While this may have not been what she may have expected, she was going to find a way to get through all this. After all, as she did do a lot of things as, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. So this should be easy right? Harriet slowly began to drift off to sleep thinking what else she could expect in her new confusing life as a girl. After all, while this past may be similar to her original past, there are too many changes that makes her worry if all will end up well. And so, she did her best to let her worries wash away as darkness overtook her.

 **Author's Note:** Two things that I would like to address. First off, I do know that in some parts in the middle there is a back and forth in me using he and she. This is showing the change that is going on within Harriet as she gets the information. Also with the heritage test, I decided to have multiple types of heritage tests listed. The document that Harriet took for the heritage test lists not only the basic information and House relations, but have been designed to also turn into a family tree document as well. Hopefully that clears up any confusion with everyone. Also, as some might have figured, Evigila was the word that triggered memories for Harriet. I will admit, updates will not be consistent. Also, please feel free to read my other works if you want as you wait. I probably should add bad comedy to this as part of the genre.


	3. Shopping Therapy

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Forgive me if I add mixed up some British or American words. Heck, forgive me if I have any spelling or grammar issues. And do forgive me if you do not like the story as it is going. I am just a poor soul who had an idea, who wrote a bit of it down and just sharing what I have with others. Not to mention this was a story that was already partially written by me a while ago and I made changes several times. So some grammar, spelling, and anything in this chapter and following chapter may have a lot of inconsistencies. Another note, I am adding a bit to the world and expanding on existing places from the Author's world. Some expansion ideas influences are from fan fic authors such as Rabaslab, hermit532, Vance McGill, and more. Some of the locations and expansion to the worlds I like and would like to include those (this includes other smaller schools and location as well). Main reason why I am adding that is when you try and factor the number of supposed magicals in Rowling's world, the numbers do not match the size and number of locations. Even putting in the excuse of magic, when you estimate the numbers, there would obviously be several communities and even hidden places that holds magical communities.

 **Chapter 3 – Shopping Therapy**

Harriet slowly opened her eyes and peeked around her surroundings from her bed as she heard a muffled bells of a grandfather clock softly ringing six times outside signaling that it was six in the morning. She noticed it was early morning and decided that it was time to get up. With a yawn, she stretched her arms and lazily got out of bed. She walked into the bathroom and washed up and checked her clothing. Luckily, her outfit was nearly dry with only a few small damp spots. After putting on her clothes, Harriet stepped out into the quiet hallway and headed downstairs.

There were only a few people at the bar at the moment so she took a seat in a corner. Tom noticing her walks over and greets her.

"Morning, miss," he said. "Hope you slept well last night."

"I did, sir," she replied. "Thank you for checking."

"So, what would you like for breakfast today?"

She ordered some toast, bacon, and eggs along with a glass of juice which Tom quickly laid out for her. Harriet took her time with her meal and once finished tried to leave some Galleons on the table, but Tom would have none of it. He stated to her to no worry about it once more. This did frustrate Harriet a bit as she was not necessarily poor. However, considering that she is still but a child and considering her clothing, while somewhat clean, has obviously seen better days, she decided to drop the point and promised herself quietly that she would repay the man when the appropriate time comes.

With that, Harriet decided to head out to Charing Cross Road first and get some new clothes. While being a magical herself, it was rather difficult wearing witches and wizarding clothing when much of the style is still lagging behind. After walking a few blocks, she hailed a cab who took her to the nearest shopping mall after being scrutinized by the driver. She asked the driver if he would be willing to wait and paid the full fee in advance. Despite the oddity of a young girl who seemed to be dressed poorly and clearly wondering about alone, the man agreed and paid no heed to her as they agreed on a time to meet for him to take her back. With that she rushed into the mall after all, and he promptly ignored the oddity she represented as she did pay him in advance and went to grab some coffee at a Costa that is nearby.

Harriet walked into the mall and noticed that the stores inside were just opening and walked into one of the clothing stores nearby. There with the help of one of the attendants there, who looked at her with dismay seeing that Harriet was only grabbing some jeans and plain shirts without actually mix and matching, Harriet got quite an assemble of clothing. She eventually selected a quite few shirts of various styles a small heavier jacket and a few lighter ones and some pairs of jeans and dresses and skirts (the last ones she was reluctant to get but was browbeaten by the attendant to get and paid for them. She requested to change into some of her new attire before leaving and the attendant agreed stating to leave behind the rat rags she wore with her to be disposed of properly. Once finished, she headed to a lingerie shop. When Harriet arrived, she stopped for a moment fidgeting a bit until an attendant walked over to her. While selecting some simple clothing was fine, it was still a bit odd for her to try and select some undergarments herself. Not to mention she was a little woefully lost on where to start.

"Anything I can do to help you, dear?" she asked.

Harriet looked at her gratefully.

"Yes, miss. This is actually my first time buying my under things myself. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I should be buying."

"What about your mother?"

"She passed away. So I have am trying to make do with what I can. Unfortunately, she did not give me much advice on clothing."

"Oh, you poor thing!" The attendant sympathized, "And no father or siblings? Not even a guardian?"

Harriet shook her head and replied, "Well my brother Harry would probably not be able to help me and would rather avoid the store if possible."

 _Sadly, even as Harry, I can't avoid this. Not anymore._ She thought to herself.

"So, he left you to do the shopping yourself," the lady stated and with a brisk nod and a look of determination, she began to direct Harriet, "Here, come with me and let me help you out."

With that, Harriet got a quick crash course on the various types of lingerie and with made a few selections that the attendant recommended. While it was a bit embarrassing, she deemed it to be very educational and informative although she still wondered why there were so many different types and styles. As a boy, getting undergarments was much easier. She was rather thankful for the lady though, unlike the previous one, this attendant did not try to force her to buy certain clothing but rather offered advice and recommendations. With the attendant's persuasion, the selection she chose were not undergarments with little prints or anything that made her look too childish, but at the same time was nothing too adult like. She was rather grateful that the lady helped her try and find some more modest types of garments and thanked the lady as she paid for the items.

As she exited the store, she made her way to a shoe store right next door carrying all the bags of her new clothing. At the store, she bought some dark sneakers, and some socks which she wore immediately. She even purchased some additional shoes and sandals and several variety of socks. After checking to see if there was anything else needed she dragged her new spoils to the waiting cab. Seeing the little girl struggle with all the bags, the driver quickly steeped out of the car to assist her with her bags and later drove her back to the Charing Cross Road. She thanked the man who drove her and gave him a generous tip and watched him drive off before taking her new clothing with her to enter the Leaky Cauldron.

As she entered the Leaky Cauldron, she noticed that the place was now buzzing with the normal traffic that she was used to seeing. She passed by a few people and Tom, who looked at her dragging her bags up the stairs with some surprise and then amusement. Once back in her room, she dropped her shopping bags to the side and flopped onto the newly made bed. After relaxing for a few minutes, she got back up and decided to see how she looked and checked herself out in the bathroom mirror. She wore a light grey shirt with dark jeans and a light black jacket. She smiled at herself a little. Considering she did not really care much about what she wore when she was a guy, she felt accomplished after seeing how she looked with what she was currently wearing. Her attired was dark enough from her perspective to now draw too much attention, yet her attire was not like Snape's complete black outfit. She did come to the realization after seeing herself in various clothing that while she was alright with the lighter and brighter shades of colour, she preferred wearing darker shades of clothing as it did not stand out as much. With a satisfied nod, she went back downstairs to head into Diagon Alley.

She walked over to Gringotts and noticed that the bank was packed. Noticing a long line, she sighed and went to the end of the line and waited her turn. After a few minutes, she finally found herself at the front of the line and waited a bit more.

"Next!" a voice called out.

Harriet walked over to the teller who called for the next person in line and noticed it was the same goblin she first met yesterday.

"Hello, Mister Sharpclaw. How are you doing today?" she asked politely.

Sharpclaw started a bit surprised that a human bothered to remember his name. He looked at the girl carefully and smiled remembering her.

"Ah yes, welcome back miss. I am doing well. How may we help you? Sorry for the harshness last time," he replied noting that unlike others, this girl was obviously more well-mannered than other witches and wizards he met.

"That is alright. I realized I should have been there earlier. I did not realize the time was already late then. The fault is my own. I am here to meet with Mister Granrod and Mister Bankrat in regards to handling my accounts. Apparently they are assigned to personally handle my accounts and requested that drop by today if possible."

Sharpclaw turned around and called another goblin over and said something in a language that Harriet could not understand. The other nodded and headed off. Sharpclaw turned back and looked at her.

"I sent word of your arrival, if you do not mind waiting to the side for a moment, they will come for you when they can."

"Thank you, Mister Sharpclaw."

"You are most welcome."

With that Harriet moved to the side as he called for the next person in line. She did not have to wait long when she heard her name being called. Looking to the direction of the voice, she saw a younger looking goblin, Bankrat beckoning her over. While he held his serious demeanor, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Hello again, Harriet. It is a pleasure to meet you again. Please come this way. Granrod is looking forward to our meeting."

With that he led her to the back again this time to another hallway into an office. The sign next to it stated, Granrod, Senior Account Manager. Below it was a new temporary sign that also stated, Bankrat, Account Manager.

He ushered her inside revealing a rather messy office. With the elderly goblin sitting at his desk at the far end. He looked up from his work and smiled and gestured her to take a seat, which she did.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again, Harriet."

"Likewise, Mister Granrod." She replied.

He shook his finger at her. "Ah, ah. If you insisted last night to call us just by your first name, then I would also insist you also drop the Mister as well. Just Granrod will do."

She smiled. "Thank you, Granrod."

Granrod cleared his table as Bankrat pulled up a rather large folder to place on the desk. They opened the folder and started going over the documents inside.

"Bankrat and I have gone over your accounts a bit last night and I must say we are quite surprised. We are trying to assess the situation with the vaults belonging to the four Founders, however to assess the wealth and valuables within those vaults and verifying them with our records will take some time."

Harriet nodded and replied. "I understand, Granrod. And I do not mind if it does take a while. I would rather have you both take your time and be assured of what is there that way it would be easier for all of us in the long run."

Granrod nodded and continued. "That is considerate of you, normally other wizards are rather impatient and would like us to give them the total immediately. We thank you for giving us the time to work on this matter. We also would like to notify you of the properties you own and investments so far noted."

He handed her a long list of properties.

She looked at the list and her eyes widened quite a bit.

With the combined accounts from all her Houses excluding the House of Black, she had quite a collection of homes and manors scattered about Europe. Most of the housing, were being rented or leased out to various families both muggle and magical. She even controlled the quite a few flats and buildings in Diagon Alley as well as many buildings in other alleys connected to Diagon such as Knockturn Alley, Commerce Way, and more. She also noticed that with the combined resources, she owned sizable shares with the Daily Prophet, The Nimbus Racing Company, Madam Primpernelle's, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Flourish and Blotts and more. Nearly every other business other than the ones that popped up within the past few years has been invested to some various degree. There were also other businesses on the main continent that her family invested in and quite a few muggle companies as well. So far, most of it was showing profit with only a few showing some losses.

Harriet looked at the goblins with disbelief when she read the last few items on the list to which they nodded mischievously. She owned Hogwarts. Actually, not just Hogwarts but also the surrounding areas which includes the Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, the Black Lake, and the entire valley which it all resides in.

"I-I…"

"A little overwhelming I take it?" Granrod chuckled as Bankrat snickered seeing her expression.

Words failing to come out, Harriet merely nodded.

 _How? She thought? How did I get this… Never mind…_ She thought as went through some of the documents once more. Obviously someone was giving her a helping hand even if this was a bit much. Might as well make me the Surpreme Mugwump, CEO of Microsoft, and be the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the same time while being betrothed to Prince William.

 _Now that is a thought._ A dark voice stated.

 _Don't you dare!_ She mentally screamed back. _And I thought you stated that you would stay away from me and only intervene when you are bored._

Only silence greeted her.

"Well at least for now those are just everything that we know is for certain. We also have a list of items within the vaults that have been verified, other than that, we are still in the process of trying to figure out exactly what your total value is. However, I am fairly confident to say that you are the wealthiest individual that I have come across in the magical world. You definitely rank fairly high up there in the non-magical as well, though you will never find yourself listed in the non-magical records as one of the wealthiest."

"How is this possible?" she asked, trying to figure out how Death managed to pull this off. "I know that there are many wealthy families, but how do I own all this and have enough wealth that even goblins have to take time to sort?"

Bankrat had the answer for that. "Well you see, Houses usually tend to make their own investments as they like to have control over the flow of their money. Some however, are willing to let us handle their financial affairs for a flat fee which normally yield better results. However, in your case, your ancestors provided some incentive for us working at Gringotts where we gain a percentage of what is made. A good portion goes to the bank however, we do receive a sizable commission ourselves."

"May I inquire how much the fee is at the moment?"

"Currently, at two and a half percent. One percent commission for us and one and half for the bank."

"And can you also process any documents here as well?"

"We indeed can. In fact, if you wish, we can also have someone as your representative and have them process any governmental documents such as, but not limited to, marriage, change of address, name change, licensing, purchasing, and more. We like to pride ourselves in being able to process things faster than the Ministry does."

"If I request that you handle all that would you be willing to assist me?"

"We most certainly will. If we believe that someone else may be better to assist you on some particular issues, we shall notify you of any suitable alternatives as well."

Harriet nodded. "Then I would like you to increase the commission to a total of five percent and have half to you and half to the bank. That should give you more incentive to work harder."

Granrod tilted his head in a slight bow. "My thanks to you for the generosity, miss. In fact, with that generosity, we will heighten your security measures if you wish."

"How so?" she asked.

"We could make upgrades that would ensure the safety for your possessions although it may be frowned upon by the wizarding society?"

"Oh?" she replied urging him to continue.

"Let us just say that no thief would even consider your vaults as a possible target even if they are foolhardy to try and break in to Gringotts unless they wish to be assured that they die a most painful death."

She nodded in acceptance and agreed to the upgrades and other various safety measures they offered.

"Now going back to some of the shares I have, would it be possible to own majority shares in any of them?" she asked.

"Indeed," Bankrat replied. "We can most certainly make purchases to buy majority shares in the Daily Prophet and with Flourish and Blotts at this time. Others we will have to check and see if that is a possibility or if other shares can be bought out. Would you like us to purchase majority shares when it is possible?"

"Yes, please. Unless you really advise against doing so. Although, it would be nice to at least have a hand in a little of everything."

Granrod and Bankrat nodded in agreement.

"Also, please note that I am most willing to invest in anything that may hold potential as long as they are legal."

Granrod and Bankrat nodded together once more.

"I think that will be everything then on my end, thank you Granrod and Bankrat," Harriet concluded.

"It is our pleasure to assist you," he replied. "This now leads to some other discrepancies we have noticed."

"Oh?"

"We have noticed a person by the name of Albus Dumbledore accessing the vaults and making a steady and consistent withdrawal from your vault, particularly the trust vault."

Harriet's eyes narrowed with anger.

"I was not aware of this. How was he able to access the vaults in the first place?"

"We apologize for this issue and will rectify this immediately. We had our suspicions but he came with a letter from the Ministry stating that he was allowed access. While we suspected foul play, there was no actual way to prove it until the will was opened or someone of the family was able to verify. I would also assume this means the same for the Wizengamot Seat as well?

"Yes."

"Very well we shall make sure that he no longer has control over your assets and will make sure that he repays every Knut he spent. Now is there anything else we can do to help?" Granrod replied.

"I believe that is all for now," Harriet stated.

The three then stood up and shook hand.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Harriet. We hope to see you again soon."

With that she left Gringotts.

Harriet decided that now that she has things somewhat situated, she should first get a wand. While she was about to head to Ollivander's she decided to try a few other wand stores instead and headed to one she heard of in Knockturn Alley. From what she remembered, not all witches and wizards obtained their want from Ollivander and a few went to other wand makers. One of the other makers happened to be in Knockturn Alley. While the Alley itself was a bit sketchy, the store she sought luckily was not too far in and she opened the door into the store. Inside stood a fairly elderly looking man who looked at Harriet with interest and some slight confusion.

"I am sorry dear, but if you were looking for a wand, you should check out Ollivander's."

"But, I thought this was a wand shop," Harriet replied.

"It is. However apparently you are recommended to buy your beginner wand there if you plan to go to Hogwarts."

"I have been there before, sir," she replied once more, "However, I feel like I was a bit restricted when the big brother keeps breathing down my neck just because a spell was set off around me even when I was innocent."

The man then smiled. "Ah, the tracking charm. If you do not wish to have that then this certainly is the place to come, provided that money is no issue? We are rather more expensive compared to Ollivander's you see. We custom make the wands to suit to the needs to the witch or wizard and not have any be premade unless they are used wands."

Harriet drew herself up straighter. "Money would not be an issue and I would love to have one that is customized to fit me perfectly from you. To not have that tracking charm is a blessing in itself."

"Very well, come with me please."

He led her to the back of the room which showed various types of ingredients and wood. He pointed at the jars lined along the table.

"Place your hand over each one and see which core is to your liking. You will be able to tell immediately which one it will be."

Harriet slowly moved her hand over each jar and felt nothing, a few she felt a slight tug which she stopped over briefly before moving on. It was not until she went to the last jar that she stood still. She definitely felt the core calling out to her and she picked up the jar. She examined the content in the jar which held a few scales. The man raised an eyebrow as he then told Harriet to do the same with the wood. As she stood passed by the wood, there were only two that she paused at, after feeling them both out once more she selected one of the and the wand maker took the wood from her.

"Is there a reason why you hovered over the Elder and the Yew?" he asked.

Harriet shrugged a bit. "I felt a strong pull to both, but when I checked again, it seemed like the Yew called out to me."

"Hmm… Indeed, that is certainly interesting. Hardly seen this combination, but still never thought I would be making one with hydra scales myself."

"Hydra?"

"Yes. In fact, these very scales from an offspring descended from the Lernaean Hydra. This will be one wicked wand as you will be able to definitely cast multiple spells a lot more quickly and efficiently than others. Well at least as fast as you can cast them yourself. One could say this will be a growing wand in which the wand will grow along side with the user."

Harriet stared at the want in fascination and a thought entered her mind.

"How come Mr. Ollivander restrict himself to a few types of materials?" she asked, "From what I gather, most inner material that I have heard of were either dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, or a feather from a phoenix."

The man chuckled and nodded as she stated that and walked over to the jar containing some hair and bringing it up as if to inspect the content.

"Indeed, most wands he has made have one of those three cores. I personally am not sure as to his own reasoning, but I do know that of all the core materials, they are the most docile and common. Of those three, the phoenix feather still is quite rare in itself, however, they are great wands for those who first learn the joys of magic. Being the ones that tend to be one of the most faithful to their owners, wands with unicorn hair are great wands to children who grow at a steady pace. Such wands, while might not being the most powerful on its own can work wonders with the true owner. Usually such wands align and see its first owner as the true owner, making it rather difficult to find another witch or wizard to use the wand. Only one who has a deep and meaningful connection may, and I emphasize may, utilize the wands full potential."

The wand maker set the jar down and pick up the other that Harriet assumed contain dragon heartstrings, which the maker quickly confirmed.

"The dragon heartstring. Generations ago, it would have been near impossible to see such commodity. It was in fact rather rare to acquire. It was not until the development of reservations and dragon farms that allowed such an uncommon material to become much more easily accessible. Such wands with cores of a dragon displayed much power and might. In a sense, it matched a dragon's temperament, allowing the users to be able to display more of the aggressive and violent forms of magic."

He looked at the jar and stared at the contents intently as if being drawn by the materials themselves.

"Such power have seduced many to expand ones skill. Truly a wand for the ambitious. But mind you, like a dragon, the wand does not hold allegiance to the owner. Unlike the wands of with the core of a unicorn who work in harmony with the user, the wands with the core of a dragon seeks those of their equals and is willing to change allegiance should it find a more worthy owner."

A few minutes of silence ensued as the wand maker slowly placed the jar down as if in a reluctant manner. And reached out for a third jar that contained two feathers.

"And finally the phoenix, the most independent of them all. It is as wild and powerful as the dragon, yet as loyal as the unicorn. However, its power and loyalty is truly one of the hardest to come by. The unicorn works in the growing and nurturing with the wand user and the dragon heartstring provides the power the user will need. The phoenix wand, why, it does both. However, such a wand is rather difficult to gain its loyalty. When it does though, it can truly propel people to excel in many things that they truly put their heart to."

He quickly put the jar down as if wishing to no longer hold the object.

"Truly a picky and testy core if I may say so. However, such items despite some temperament are known to be ones that beginners may be more at ease with. Thus, you see Ollivander supplying such wands. As they are also the easiest to work with, they take the least amount of time and effort to make and thus such stock wands are much cheaper than custom wands. He does create unique wands at times if he needs to, but he seeks to take the calm and cautious approach to wand lore. I on the other hand, like to take chances and see what other boundaries could be pushed. That way, the user will have the wand that is most compatible for them to use. Of course using uncommon or rather unfamiliar cores and materials is dangerous I assure you, but still fascinating."

The wand maker finally locked eyes with her.

"Of course, this would truly be an interesting task for me as I have not provided a wand with a Hydra core within the past several decades and never to a child. I do look forward to what you could do child as the last wizard who used such a core was one of the top leaders for Grindelwald's forces."

Harriet's eyes widened a bit at the information and the man chuckled darkly.

"Oh this will be an interesting one, I assure you. And I am most certainly looking forward to seeing what you will make of your destiny, child."

A few moments of silence lasted in the room, until it ended abruptly as the man straightened up and walked back to the counter with Harriet follow suit.

"Show me your wand arm."

Harriet immediately offered her hand in which the man promptly conjured a measuring tape and measured her arms taking notes on a piece of parchment on the counter. After a few moments the man nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, I should be able to have the wand ready for you within a few days. Would that be alright?"

"A few days?" Harriet asked.

The man nodded, "Indeed. It will take some time to craft a wand and one with such a core, I would like to take my time on it. It is a custom wand and such things are not cheap and quick to make."

"Yes, please. I will then go and check on some other supplies and drop on by later in the day then. How much will it be if I also want a customized hit-wizard wand holsters? Oh and having a charm to prevent others from summoning it or tampering it or the wand?" she asked.

"I don't think a little girl such as yourself-"

She cut him off immediately. "Indulge me."

He pondered for a moment and pulled another sheet of parchment and broke down the total and after a moment handed the parchment for her to see. The wand itself he was listing for over 100 Galleons for the base custom wand with a 100 Galleon charge on the component being used, the materials and enchantments to be used on the holster itself was at least another 60, totaling to 260 Galleons. She noted that he scratched that price and listed and took off a 100 Galleon.

"A little much for your pocket I'm sure. After all, not many are able to afford the full price of a custom wand and the features you requested. Usually it is the wealthy who are able to afford such luxuries such as customized wands. However, seeing that you are rather an inter-"

The wand maker stopped and looked at her as she pulled out her bag and poured out 260 Galleons and looked at him expectantly.

The two stood there for a moment until the man bowed in apology for his behavior stating once more that this was something he could only legally provide to hit-wizards and those working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE). She simply pulled out another 100 Galleons and placed it on the table and looked at him.

"I want the holster and I will pay handsomely for it. Also you do not have to mention that you made one for me and I will not mention it to anyone. Fair enough?"

The man looked at the pile of Galleons for a moment and nodded.

"May I have your name, Miss? He asked as she was leaving.

"Peverell, Harriet Peverell." She stated.

His eyes widen in recognition of her surname. She smirked a bit seeing the recognition in his eyes.

"And if you would be so kind, there is a design that I would like you to add to the wand and the holster if you can. And as usual I would like to have the utmost discretion when doing so. I am willing to pay extra for your silence."

She pulled out another 100 Galleons causing the wanted maker to raise his eyebrows a bit seeing a little girl holding that much money. While some wealthy families provide a healthy allowance for their children, this was rather absurd. For a moment he eyes flashed a bit with greed, but he withheld himself. She may not have a wand, but the way the girl carried herself and her actions clearly shown that there was more to the girl. Not to mention, while he will not deny the extra coins, he will not let greed get in the way of professionalism… much.

 _She is certainly an intriguing one._ He thought as he nodded in agreement.

She looked intently at him and nodded and as if she found something satisfactory before passing the Galleons. Harriet then quickly outlined the design of the House of Peverell. He nodded and immediately went to work.

She left the wand shop and went decided to head over to Madame Malkin's. Knowing that Madame Malkin's likes to take her time and gossip, Harriet decided to act like one of the old pureblood families and was stern with the lady. This made the Madame work with the speed and efficiency that she wished the lady had years before and within an hour she was quickly fitted for her everyday wear and some more formal clothing. While she despaired over the fashion of the magical world, she knew it was better to have a few on hand just in case. She even ordered the school robes and made sure they were of high quality, while it was not the finest of materials. Once she was finished, she paid the lady in advance and asked to have to be sent to Tom at the Leaky Cauldron under the name Jade. She paid for the lady's troubles and walked out after receiving confirmation that all her clothing will arrive to her in the following evening.

She later stopped by another store where she purchased a multiple compartment trunk where each trunk was magically expanded. When she found out that she could place a few runes on the trunk, she requested that a feather-light rune, a shrinking and enlarging rune, and a security rune be places on the trunk. She also had a stasis charm be added to one of the compartments just in case for perishable items. Despite the excessive cost, Harriet thought if she has the money, she might as well make use of it. She visited Flourish and Blotts and purchased both the first and second years books for a quick refresher and bought several other books that caught her fancy.

She stopped momentarily as she caught herself racing around the bookstore grabbing the various books.

 _I'm turning into Hermione._

The thought nearly brought tears in her eyes as she remembered her best friend. Hermione spent a lot of time supporting her and Harriet failed her. She dueled Voldemort and ended up dying.

 _I wonder what happened to her afterwards_. She thought. She looked up a little and called out quietly.

 _Death?_

However, as she waited a few moments, nothing happened. With a sigh, she collected the books to finalize her purchase.

As she finished paying for her items, she noticed that without the Boy-Who-Lived, there was no Harry Potter books that were being published or sold. And was in a sense quite satisfied with many of the books that explained what may have happened with Harry on that October night in 1981. Rather books were on various histories of the Potters and other notable families who fought in the war. Some books even had various authors speculating what happened that night. Smiling she turned around to take her leave.

She was about to leave when she noticed a series of books and knew just then she would have to make sure to take that person down before he began the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor by her second year. There standing before her was a book with the authors name in bright golden words. Gilderoy Lockhart. She remembered how he explained he received his Order of Merlin for providing ways to help the community. She also knew all the names of the people he stole ideas from as he was just as bad as Voldemort in praising himself and spilling all the information before trying to use the Memory Charm on her and Ron.

 _Well one thing at a time._ She thought as she headed up to her room at the Cauldron.

For the next few days, she picked up her new wand and holster, finalized her purchases, visited Gringotts once more to finalize her Wizengamot Seats and finances, and hired a private investigator to look into Gilderoy Lockhart and his victims. She made sure the private investigator, she hired had no love for Lockhart, who eagerly agreed to look into the matter with high hopes that they would be able to find a lead in regards to bringing about his downfall.

With all that ready and her plans moving into action, all she needed to do was wait for her letter to arrive.


	4. Meeting Old Acquaintances

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So, this story is now about as long as my other story London Calling (one of my favourite stories that I have written though been stuck on it for a while). Apparently the Peverell Girl is a much more followed story one which I did not expect to be this popular. I would like to thank you all for the support. I will admit that while I have been working on editing the stories a bit, they do get a little longer. This one is a bit of a monster in length for me and I hope to not have to deal with another chapter this long. Despite the poor writing, the horrible editing, and etc., the fact that you guys are enjoying this does bring joy to me. I may not be a writer, but I do thank you for the time you take to read this story. I do hope you enjoy this next chapter! Reviews always appreciated.

 **Chapter 4 – Familiar Faces**

Dumbledore looked at the letter from Gringotts that arrived to him a bit bewildered as he read the parchment.

 _To Albus Dumbledore._

 _We would like to inform you that, effective immediately, you have been relieved of your stewardship for the Wizengamot Seat in regards to the House of Potter. We also would like to inform you that there have been unauthorized withdrawals from the account and that you are required to pay back the outstanding amount you withdrew from the Potter Vault within the next two weeks. Failure to comply will result in an additional fine of 5% for every three days of delinquent payment._

 _Statement is listed on attached document._

 _We wish you a good day._

 _Ragnok_

 _Executive Director of Gringotts branch of England_

Albus Wulfric Brian Percival Dumbledore looked at the letter in confusion and disbelief. Disbelief that Gringotts stated they retracted his right to control the Wizengamot Seat for the House of Potter and their finances and confused that they demand he pay back the money he took from the Potter's. Ever since the last of the Potters have perished on that fateful night, Dumbledore took it upon himself to make sure that the Potter's Seat and resources did not fall into the right hands. He knew that others sought the Potter fortune and even more so the seat that the Potters actually held in the Wizengamot.

With his many years of experience and pulling the right favours, he was able to produce the Potter's Will which stated that the Potters left everything to him should they all perish. Of course, he was the author of the will and not James and Lily, but who would deny his claim if he stated that he was to inherit? He was Albus Dumbledore, Grand Sorcerer, Saviour and Hero of the Global Wizarding War, the Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and the beloved Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After all, why waste all that power and wealth? The Dumbledores were not a wealthy house like the Malfoys and did not have a Wizengamot Seat. Being one of the most responsible, and well respected and knowledgeable being of the era, it should only be fitting that he should inherit and raise the Dumbledore name.

Quite firm in believing this is mere a horrible joke gone wrong and very annoyed that the goblins pulled such an act on him, Albus immediately went to the travelled to Gringotts to handle this situation personally. Perhaps some a brief chat will get this Ragnok to apologize publicly for this insult.

He arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and walked over the Gringotts in a friendly grandfatherly manner, though inwardly he was grumbling at this in convenience. As much as he wished to use Fawkes, he did not do so remembering the painful experience the last time did. For years Albus just flashed into Ragnok's office and got down to business. After all, there should be no need for Albus to wait and there is only one magical creature there that is of close to rank as him. It is like two leaders of different nations meeting. One does not simply deal with the lowly members of the picking order. As a leader, it is obvious that you need to interact with another fellow leader.

Albus entered into the atrium and was about to head to the back where Ragnok's office lay but was warded off by four goblin guards that were heavily armed that barred his way.

"Back in line, like the others," one of the goblins directed indicating the long line of people waiting in a queue.

Albus simply smiled and replied back, "I am here to see Ragnok, if you will excuse me."

Suddenly four pikes bristled in his direction causing Albus to stop as soon as he took a step forward to pass.

"You will wait like the others. Do not test us, human."

Years of experience hide the frown that nearly surfaced on his face. It would do no go to cause any further scene. Albus also was not here to fight. With a sigh he turned around and instead of heading to the line, he walked up to a teller who was calling for the next person in line.

"Sir," the goblin teller replied as he approached, "Please wait in line until you're your turn is called."

"I am afraid this matter cannot wait," he turned to the witch who was supposed to be next his eyes twinkling at her. "You would not mind waiting a bit would you, dear?"

The lady who was about to walk up to the teller simply seemed delighted that Albus Dumbledore was directly addressing her.

"Oh, I would not mind at all. Please, due take your time."

Behind her were some other witches and wizards grumbling a bit, however recognizing him, they did not offer much protest.

"Excellent," he exclaimed and gave her a warm smile while nodding his head in thanks and turned back to the goblin who just remained there staring at him for a brief moment.

After glaring at him for a few moments, the teller snapped his fingers, summoning another goblin. He whispered something to the goblin who nodded and watched as that goblin went to the back. After what felt like nearly ten minutes the goblin came back and stated.

"The Executive Director is ready to meet you."

With that the goblin led the Albus down a series of corridors and to Ragnok's office. In front of the office stood two goblin guards at the ready and another two groups of two patrolling the hallway. Within, Dumbledore noticed another two more guarding the other side of the door and four more goblins standing at attention behind Ragnok. All the goblins heavily armed to the teeth. Frowning inwardly again Albus cautiously walked into the office. Something was up and he was not sure what the cause was. It could not have been the fake will. While Gringotts do not like any forged documents (other than their own), Albus ensured that his will was as authentic as possible, even going as far as using James and Lily's blood to sign the documents after their death. With that and the support of the Wizengamot, the documents was as legitimate as a forge document could be short of the true signee willingly signing the document themselves. While it is still taking time for Dumbledore to gain full access to the main vault and resources, he at least had a strong foothold into the Potter fortune and power.

Ragnok was sitting behind his desk and motioned the old wizard to take a seat, which he did. It was evident on Ragnok's face that he did not like the old man and according to rumours, he was not the only goblin who felt that way.

"What brings you here today, wizard?" Ragnok asked, not bothering to act at all professional about this.

Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes twinkling.

"It seems there has been some misunderstanding on your end, Ragnok," Dumbledore replied. "I received a letter earlier today stating that I am no longer holding stewardship to the Wizengamot Seat for the House of Potter and that I apparently have to make reparations to the House of Potter."

Ragnok just raised his eyebrows knowing what Dumbledore wanted. "So?"

"So, I ask that you fix this mistake of yours and we can go about our business," Dumbledore simply stated.

Ragnok merely looked at him pointedly and snapped his fingers. Immediately another goblin carrying a folder flanked by two more guards walked in. Dumbledore began to feel a little unsettled as he noticed an increasing number of armed goblins. While the goblins were known for their security and distrust towards wizards, this was a little ridiculous!

Ragnok threw the folder at Dumbledore who opened the folder and seeing all the transactions that he had made.

"We inquired to the Head about these transactions. They stated that none of these were authorized and that the stewardship was taken away from them forcibly they did not grant any authority in allowing you to act as their proxy or regent."

"The Line of Potters has come to an end years ago my friend," Dumbledore stated putting on a sorrowful face.

"Indeed," Ragnok replied indicating for him to continue as he pulled a folder out from his drawer.

"You must understand, they wanted me to manage their House should they come to pass. After all, it was their final wish."

Ragnok began to chuckle softly, his laughter sending shivers to even the wizard who many considered to be the greatest since Merlin himself.

"Is that so? That is very interesting. You see, I personally confirmed the validity of their will myself and it stated," he reached for one of the parchments in the folder and read out loud.

"If we are dead, then under no situation should Albus Dumbledore be allowed to control any of the Potter possessions, Wizengamot seats, or guardianship of our children. If this will has been activated over the other ones, then that means that he has betrayed us as well."

"Preposterous! I would not have betrayed the Potters!"

"Oh, but according to their will, you did," Ragnok grinned a sickening grin. "However instead of pressing charges of theft and causing a public stir, the new Head of the House demands all Potter possessions are to be returned and compensated. Should you do so, then any issues will be considered resolved."

"There is no relations left connecting to the Potters!" Dumbledore refuted, his voice raising as he stood. "That person who you claim to be the new head is most definitely an imposter! I demand to meet this person for inconveniencing me and that you rescind your actions against me!"

Immediately all the guards drawn their weapons and had them pointed at Dumbledore who stopped once he noticed the threat around him.

Ragnok leans forward, his expression now showing much anger.

"TWO WEEKS, wizard. Or we will liquidate your assets and should your assets not be sufficient, we will brand you as a thief."

Dumbledore turned and fled the office wondering all the while how things started to go wrong. Tom Riddle is dead, as were the Potters. While Riddle did not have anything of value, the only thing Albus was able to secure was some control on the Potters fortune. Well, for now, it was only the trust vault and a few items, but given time, he would have had access to it all. Despite having the support and despite the years on obtaining complete control, now it was soon to be all gone. While he did barely have enough in his possessions to pay off his debt, there were too many things he had of value that he simply could not be let go. He decided it may be time to add some pressure as the Chief Warlock to raise some needed funds and possibly even raise tuition as the headmaster to cover his expenses.

* * *

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Peverell,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

Harriet looked at the letter over and over again. She remembered how she felt when she first got the letter to attend Hogwarts and here it is again. It has been a few weeks and she already sent the reply back that she would attend and requested a complete Hogwarts Handbook as well so that she would be able to read the rules. After that, Harriet made sure that she had everything listed on the list that stated what she would need on the second page. It was actually going to happen.

During those few weeks, Harriet discovered something very interesting. When she was told by Death that she was granted Occlumency, she realized that her mind was a lot clearer and that she had a much easier time remembering things. While the books were first years, once she went over her books she was able to recite and know everything by heart. It was as if Occlumency not only shielded her mind, but also organized it in a way to help sort her memories and information.

Another thing she realized was that she was able to create false memories and feelings in which she could divert people to thinking other things and making it seem like they got a glimpse of her when in reality they only saw what she wanted them to see. She did realize that she needed to learn how to quickly create and fill such memories and feelings so that they seemed more genuine. With the mastery of Occlumency bestowed to her by Death and its "siblings", she was able to ensure that not only was her mind hidden behind a strong defence, but it can effective block out those who were not permitted into her mind.

She also learned that she could easily cast wandless magic as well as nonverbal spells with a lot more ease than before. Something she realized would be handy. While she may be more proficient in them than before, having a wand tend to allow the user to have more ease in using and controlling magic.

During those weeks, Harriet visited many of the stores in Diagon Alley. However, one she visited on a frequent basis was Flourish and Blotts. She spent hours on end browsing the books there, purchasing any that seemed to catch her fancy. Some of the text she purchased came with images and fine detail that would help as references for her to develop her false memories. She also requested the list of recommended books that the staff recommended as additional sources for the various subjects that she was going to take. By then, most of the staff at the store knew her.

During that time, she met up with Ragnok once more and requested for a false identification.

With the help of Gringotts she created a Liliana Jade White. A young reclusive English lady coming from the Potter line that splits several generations before James Potter's generation. According to the new records, the Potters who moved to France back in the early 1700s and renamed themselves as the House of White. Through some manipulation, the goblins were also able to tie her new heritage to some other old English and French Houses that was long dead and confirmed extinct to indicate that while her House was only roughly 300 years old, it was a respectable and noble house. This did cost a quite a bit in Galleons, but given the possible use for this identity Harriet thought this was worth it in the end. She also requested to create a new vault for the 'House of White' transferring a sizable amount of Galleons to the new account. At first Granrod and Bankrat were against the idea, stating that this should not be done as it would divide her assets. However when she explained her reasoning for creating such an account, they reluctantly agreed. It did improve their mood however that she still wished for them to handle her new account and persona.

Harriet loved the name Liliana Jade White. It was a play with her mother's name and the surname name itself was the opposite of the House of Black. It was simple yet easy to remember. As the closest House to the Potters, the House of White was to be the current holder of the Wizengamot Seat for the House of Potter. As a finalized note, she listed her Liliana persona to be her god sister and magical guardian. This would allow Harriet to tie together her two persona somewhat and allow herself to create an excuse if people see her and her other self in the same area when she change her identity.

Once the preparations, identifications, possessions, and accounts were ready. Harriet contacted Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as Liliana in regards to Sirius Black. It was still believed that Sirius Black was a Death Eater who murdered helped murder the Potters. She requested Madame Bones to look into the matter and provide Sirius with a trial. A trial he was not given.

Once the letter was sent, she went to an apothecary in Knockturn Alley to purchase some temporary aging potions, luckily while there were several apothecaries, some with dubious reputations, the one she visited was one called Viridian's Apothecary. She recalled that was the apothecary where many wealthy Pure-blood families visited and recommended. It was founded by Vindictus Viridian's parents. The family were well known for their potions and Vindictus even went on to become the Headmaster for Hogwarts during his time. At the apothecary, while it was risky, Harriet managed to stun the owner and cast a false memory charm to obtain the aging potions she needed making the owner assume it was someone else who was ordering the potions. The potion allowed Harriet to age by a few years for the day. Despite the cost, she proceeded to purchase an ample supply of the aging potion and placed an ongoing order for more of them. Harriet then went around and purchased a few more other potions and carried the initial stock of potions back to her room. Once in her room, she opened her trunk and put them in the compartment with the stasis charm on it. She tested one of the potions to see the effects and noticed that after a few moments of ingesting the potion, she aged until she looked to be in somewhere between her late teens and early twenties. She also noted that the potion effects would naturally wear off after 24 hours, making it last long enough to avoid suspicion as long as she is careful with her usage.

It was not long before she met Madame Bones in person as Liliana, who confirmed to her that after the initial investigation, when they reopened the case, they found that there was no trial on record. She asked how Liliana knew that he was innocent and so she played the admirer who just could not believe that he was guilty of what he did. Harriet felt Madame Bones silently trying to pry into her mind and Harriet led her to false memories of Liliana as a young child who was infatuated by Sirius when she saw him just months before the incident. It was rather difficult to picture a healthy Sirius, but using the pictures of Sirius from the old photos that Hagrid gave to her a long time ago, she hoped that the image she shown worked. Harriet sighed in relief inwardly as seemed to look like Madame Bones was satisfied with what she found. Madame Bones shook her head and sighed and assuring her that she will look into the matter herself personally and ensure that a trial take place. Harriet thanked her and left.

By then, it was nearing the end of July and Harriet began to notice a steady stream of children wondering about Diagon Alley. After being around Diagon Alley for so long and with much of her personal business in order, she decided it was time to relax and possible head out for a bit and enjoy life before the start of school.

A week before she decide to go on her trip, she asked if she could meet with Tom privately when he was available. Later that evening, as the last of the clients left for the night, Harriet and Tom found themselves in alone at the bar. Harriet quickly cast a Muffliato Charm and a Disillusionment Charm around her and Tom went about to pour himself a drink and getting some juice for Harriet.

"So what seems to be the problem, Harriet?" Tom asked as he leaned against the counter taking a sip from his drink.

"I wanted to inform you that there is another 'me' that I wanted you to know about. As you know that I have been emancipated, I am in a sense legally an adult," she started. Tom nodded recalling their first conversation and urging her to continue.

"You see, I learned from the goblins that society would not perceive me to be responsible or old enough to be taken seriously."

Tom snorted at that. While Harriet was still a young eleven year old, she was a very mature one at that. In fact, she was more of an adult and more responsible than many other adults that Tom has seen, and he had seen quite a few. It should not be a surprise as he does own one of the main entrances to Diagon Alley. He listened attentively to what Harriet was going to say as it was always at least worth listening to despite her young age.

"After discussing with them on various possibilities, I came up with the idea to create a false persona who would be handling the responsibilities. In order to do that, we decided for me to use an aging potion in orde -" she stopped as Tom raised his hand to stop her from continuing.

"That is toeing the lines a bit there. Your account manager approved of this?" he asked a bit incredulously. He knew that goblins did not like to have forged documents especially if it was a forge document coming from a wizard or even a witch.

"They approved of the plan," she replied. _After much persuasion on my end._

"Why not have someone else you trust be your proxy?" he asked. Knowing full well over their time together in the summer that Harriet did own a Seat on the Wizengamot. While he had first thought that Harriet was just a poor girl who needed sheltering, he later learned that she has the means to be a future witch with quite a bit of influence and wealth. Despite coming to her new wealth, she still stayed at the Leaky Cauldron and even helped Tom out a bit.

While it may have been a short time, Tom came to like the young girl and knowing that she did not like to always advertise herself and her power, kept quiet on the matter for her sake.

"Would you be offering?" Harriet asked, her eyes perking up a little, causing Tom to roar with laughter.

"No, no. As much as I like to get the latest news from the Ministry and the Wizengamot, I prefer to not have to deal with the politics involved."

Harriet looked a little disappointed and shrugged before replying, "Then I really have no one else who I could actually trust."

That caused Tom's smile to soften and turn into sorrow as he remembered that despite her emancipation, she was in fact an orphan. And from the way he has seen her interact, he was the closest thing to a father figure for her. While he did not treat her as his daughter, he still kept an eye out for her. This was a little disheartening when he realized that he was probably one of the only few who actually looked out for her. Pushing that thought aside, he decided to smooth over that quickly by bringing up another question.

"As for the potion, where would you have gotten it? You would not have been able to purchase it from any reputable apothecary in Diagon Alley."

"I had to go to Viridian's Apothecary to purchase the aging potion," she replied a little meekly.

Tom looked at her incredulously for a moment before rubbing his temple. Oh, if she was actually his daughter, she would be so grounded.

"Well luckily, it is close to the entrance of Knockturn Alley. However, you should not have gone there by yourself though young lady!" He rebuked her.

"Knockturn Alley is not the safest of places, especially for a young girl," he continued his voice softening.

Harriet smiled at that and continued on, "I understand, I will avoid going there. I did set up a continual order so I do not have to visit the place again."

Tom merely rubbed his eyes and slowly nodded.

Harriet then went on to explain about her creating a new persona for an older version in which she would be able to handle her affairs personally and while she may still be young, at least members of society would be less likely to look down at her while she was an adult. She explained that she wanted him to know so that he would not be surprised if he notices an older version of her walking in and out of her room every once in a while. After quite a few more discussions and Tom grilling her. She begged Tom to promise her to keep the information quiet. Despite Tom being a little overwhelmed by the information and a bit disappointed that such a child took some dangerous actions that could have endangered her, Tom agreed to keep the secret stating that he would be watching out for her. That way should she be in trouble, he would do what he can to help her.

Since then, Tom helped assisted her whenever he could and as thanks, Harriet invested in the Leaky Cauldron and allowed Tom to upgrade the facility.

The investment in itself was another long discussion on another night with Tom begin adamant about taking money from a child, but in the end, Tom gave in after Harriet badgering him for days. While they were still not close with one another, the level of trust displayed to each other brought them closer to each other almost like a family. And like family usually does for one another, Harriet wanted to help out those she considers family whenever possible. In this case, it was to improve the Leaky Cauldron.

The Leaky Cauldron used to be very dusty, messy, and dark with some outdated appliances. With her help, Tom contacted some goblins and a few designers and made improvements that helped create a better ambience. While it took some time, the new Leaky Cauldron was a vast improvement over the previous one.

The ground floor was expanded with the bar lining towards one side of the wall, a dining room covering much of the centre, and several private rooms further in the back behind the bar. All the furniture were replaced and upgraded with the floors and walls being completely overhauled. The public fireplace used for floo travel was relocated to the back room that also led to the Diagon Alley and expanded to have four fireplaces now. The back room was expanded with some chairs lines up against the wall but otherwise clearing a wide passage for anyone passing by. The dining room also had a wide pathway that allowed anyone to pass by without disturbing those who wanted to stop by to grab a drink or a bite.

The stairway was expanded and also had another one leading to a newly created basement. The new basement held a large storage room where all the items that cluttered the back room to Diagon Alley was moved to along with most of the supplies. There was also a newly expanded and improved kitchen also had several dumbwaiters. The dumbwaiters allowed meals to be sent up to the bar and dining level without having to worry about food being carried along the stairway. With the much larger storage space and dining area, Tom was able to store more supplies for his establishment and cater to more customers without having the place seem as overcrowded as before.

The rooms though were a vast improvement themselves. The corridors were redone with the grandfather clock repaired and looking good as new. The windows in the corridor were replaced with new French pane windows and providing a home like feeling with the new draperies framing the windows. The rooms were different. Each room had at least one to two large queen size bed with a small table and two chairs against a wall. There were some wardrobes and cabinets that were all new with a Persian rug cover the new flooring. The two lounge chairs and a coffee table was off on one side of the corner for the tenants to use. The Bathroom was completely redone with all the fixtures being brand new. Another floor was added in anticipation for future influx of clients. In short, the rooms were upgraded from looking like a cheap motel rooms to nice comfortable hotel.

All in all it was a great investment on her part and in Tom's. By promising to keep quiet about her other than what Harriet led on publically, he had someone who helped fix up his place and in return Harriet had a place that was technically a safe haven for her. Not to mention, the things they confined to each other brought them closer to one another.

It was also a rather sweet moment for Harriet when the two celebrated her eleventh birthday along with a few other regulars at the Leaky Cauldron. While it was rather odd for an eleven year old to celebrate her birthday at the Leaky Cauldron with people much older than her, to Harriet, it was one of her happiest birthday moments. While many of the customers did not know her, other than the regulars, the well wishes she received seemed to be quite genuine. She was shocked that a few of the regulars even got her small gifts. While most were trinkets like small accessories and the occasional book or two, Harriet treasured the gifts and took to reading the books and to wearing some of her new accessories.

Once the renovations began, people complained about the Leaky Cauldron closing for a week and having to use other means to get into Diagon Alley. However, when it finally reopened, everyone agreed it was worth the wait and hassle. Many people admired the new change and admitted that it was nice to see such a refreshing change. Harriet noticed, throughout the rest of August, more people stopped by to eat and drink and more rooms were occupied for the night. Due, to the sudden influx of activity, Tom had to hire some more hands to help his establishment. Though he did not complain about the sudden increase in work as business was going well for him.

With the her and Tom on the same page, and with the Leaky Cauldron under renovations, Harriet decided to spend much of her time for the first half of her remaining summer traveling around the muggle world and enjoying the sites as the older version of her. She figured that is she travelled about as university student on summer break, people would not question her as much. So Liliana, travelled about with a small backpack. As Liliana, when she had to use her magic, she did not have to act like a first year and could cast anything she wished which in this case was an expansion and feather-light charms for her bag. That made traveling a lot easier for her and allowed her to go shopping at various stores around Britain.

Despite her using magic more freely, she was still careful and made sure to use magic where there were higher concentration of magic and/or magic users. From what she learned from Arthur Weasley in her previous life, the Ministry are able to find people using magic not only due to their wands, but also due to them actually casting magic. While the Ministry know where the magic occurred, they would not actually know who casted the magic.

Eventually as the month was coming closer towards the end, she came back and noted the heavy traffic within the Leaky Cauldron. Students and family were now shopping in preparations for the new school year. Tom noticed her and gave her a brief nod as she waved back at him and headed up the stairs. With her time traveling as Liliana coming to an end, she spent the rest of that day relaxing in her room and decided to later check out the Diagon Alley the following day as it is now in full swing in preparations for the school term.

* * *

The following morning saw Harriet wake up slowly with her looking at the sun warming her bed through the enchanted window. She reached for her wand and cast a Tempus spell and saw it was just after nine in the morning. Yawning she slowly got out of bed and dragged herself into the bathroom to wash up. She then dressed herself and applied some light makeup and brushed her hair. She was glad to remember recalling Hermione and Ginny complaining at times about their morning preparation. She even went to Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions and even got some advice and made some purchases to try out. While Harriet was not a fashionista, she did realize the importance of fashion and styling and tried to at least learn and tolerate it. If possible, she always wore very light makeup and usually tied her hair in a ponytail or let it cascade behind her freely.

She looked at herself in the new enlarged wall mirror that the bathroom had and grinned. In the mirror stood a young girl who wore a dark purple summer dress that brought out the colour of her green eyes more. She also wore a pair of low heeled shoes in grey and silver. And wore a summer jacket over the whole thing. She strapped her wand holster around her waist and made sure her jacket hid it from view to avoid suspicion. She loved the new holster as it had an adjustable magical strap which allowed her to strap the holster anywhere from her arms to her legs, even around her waist like a belt. While she still had a little of the malnourished look when she examined herself carefully, she still looked a lot better compared to when she first came to the Leaky Cauldron. A much better started compared to her life as Harry Potter.

She looked herself over once more and satisfied that with what she saw, she left her room. While Harriet made the effort to actually act and dress like a girl, she began to enjoy her life more and more as a girl. In fact, the times that she even thought about formerly being a guy in her previous life became more and more distant. She felt comfortable and happy that she was a girl. Originally, she despised Death for turning her into a girl, but now, it was fun. Well, the only down side so far was the cramps.

When Harriet had her first period that summer, she was glad she visited Madam Primpernelle's just prior to and got some advice on that and purchased products to deal with her monthlies. While she expect them to come much later, she thought it would have been better to err on the side of caution and be prepared. She was very glad that she was prepared.

Harriet purchased some potions that would help dull the pain and other items that dealt with her period. She was thankful that while her period was still painful, it was not as painful as expected and only lasting for a few days. She remembered Ginny talking about how much it hurt for her and she was very moody during those times. While the topic of conversation was a bit uncomfortable for Harriet, at least all the information she learned helped her when her own period came.

As Harriet descended the stairs Tom called for her, indicating that a letter arrived for her. She looked at the letter and smiled and thanks Tom who simply nodded. She entered Diagon Alley to witness the bustling of many adults and children and calmly walked towards Gringotts. As soon as she entered, one of the goblin teller noticed her and motioned her to wait to the side instead of waiting in line. He called to another goblin at the back. Eventually, Bankrat came out and beckoned her to follow. She thanked the teller who merely nodded and she greeted Bankrat, the goblin who came out to greet her.

"Hello, Bankrat. I hope you have been well for the past week."

Bankrat chuckled and grinned at her. "We have indeed. We are quite pleased to provide you with some good news. Granrod will explain further."

Harriet had a somewhat positive relationship with many of the goblins at Gringotts. While she admits that she does not know all their names, they noted that she did her best to do her best to remember their names and get to know them as fellow magical beings. They in turn regards her in a much friendlier manner compared to other witches and wizards.

They went to Granrod's office who greeted her in a friendly manner.

"Ah. Welcome, Harriet. Please take a seat."

She took a seat as Bankrat pulled up a chair beside Granrod.

"We are pleased to inform you that some investments we have been making has been bearing fruit for us. Also, we have managed to gain the amount owed from Dumbledore back. He was a few days late to pay back what was owed and thus some interest has been accrued from this endeavour."

"Thank you Granrod. Thank you Bankrat. I am truly grateful for what you have done."

"It is most certainly our pleasure. Anything to add more discomfort to the old buffoon, we are delighted to assist with."

Harriet learned that the goblins truly had no love towards Dumbledore. Apparently, while he may have been seen as a kind and benevolent man to many, his dealings and manipulations against the goblins have been icy at best. They knew that he played the grandfather persona and belittle them without making it seem like an insult without them able to do anything without having conflict between the goblins and wizards occur once more. Due to that, they have simply made things a bit inconvenient for him in response without actually slighting him until recently. This was something that Harriet learned and decided to store away as she may be able to utilize this in the future.

The trio went over a few more items on the list including the various businesses she either controlled or invested in and finalized her alternate identity. There she was escorted out to the main hall where she thanked the two for their services. Just as she was about to leave, something caught her ear.

It was an elderly man standing next to a young man, who looked to be in his sixth or seventh year, in front of the teller grumbling about how much tuition skyrocketed. She excused herself and went to the two men while Granrod and Bankrat looked with interest.

"Excuse me, sir." Harriet called, catching the man's attention. "But would you be able to elaborate a bit on that for me please?"

"Your first year I take it?" the man asked and she nodded. "Well the tuition for Hogwarts just went up quite a bit. We are not sure what the reason is for, but luckily my grandson here will be graduating by the end of this school year. Costing us an arm and a leg."

"So the fee we have right now is not the normal amount?" she asked.

Harriet knew that Hogwarts had been financed primarily by tuition paid by student enrollment and from some donors. During her later years at Hogwarts, she learned that the tuition prices were unfavourable to the Muggle-borns to the point where they carried the brunt of the tuition costs while many Pure-blooded families were allowed to enroll despite the financial hardships like the Weasleys. Sure there were scholarships for families such as them, but the amount they needed to contribute as part of their tuition was negligible compared to what Muggle-born parents were paying.

"Heaven's no!" the man exclaimed. She later learned that the elder man was a retired muggle administrator from a nearby university. Ever since his grandson was accepted into Hogwarts, he took his grandson in as his parents did not want to do anything with him. He explained that even in the mundane world, while tuitions costs does increase over the years, it does not simply jump drastically in cost for no apparent reason.

Harriet thanked the man for the information and walked back to the two goblins and bid her goodbyes and started to head out. Her anger was barely being contained. Muggle-borns and Half-blood tuition costs were already high compared to Pure-bloods, yet to increase the financial burden on them see to be rather cruel. As she walked out of Gringotts, she stopped for a moment. She remembered that there had been no increase in tuition when she started her first year in her previous life. Slowly realization struck her as she drew to the conclusion that this was Dumbledore's response to dealing with the financial mess he was in.

Quickly, she rushed back to the two goblins, who were on their way walking towards the back, and she called out to them. The two goblins stopped and looked at her quizzically.

"Yes, Miss Harriet?" Granrod asked.

"Would it be alright, if I took just a little more of your time?" she asked the two goblins. They shook their head and ushered her back to their office.

"What else can we do to help, Harriet?" Granrod asked once the three settled themselves once more around Granrod's desk.

"Would it be possible for me to offset the tuition payments for muggle-born for this year?"

Both goblins looked shocked at that request and looked at each other before Granrod nodding to Bankrat.

"Well," Bankrat started, "It is possible to do so. I would assume you are wishing to support them financially at least partially?

She nodded.

"As account advisors, we would have to inform you that this is a poor decision," Bankrat and Granrod both raised their hand to prevent Harriet from protesting.

"However, this is a rather noble and kind gesture. We would advise that you still have others pay for the same fee as before and merely cover the difference. We can even have it where those who already made payments will have the tuition reimbursed directly from you as well."

Harriet thought about it for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "Please do so, and charge it all to the White account. I do not want them to suffer any more in this prejudice society if I can prevent it. Also, please ensure that the amount from Dumbledore be transferred to the White account as well."

"Very well, it shall be done."

She thanked the two and immediately left. Once she back at Diagon Alley, she went to the Owl Post Office and contacted the Private Investigator to see how the progress was going and if she would be able to meet up with him. She also inquired to see if there was someone he would recommend who could work well with the investigator and can handle legal affairs yet was reputed to be honourable and respected. Satisfied that the letter was sent off, she decided to take another stroll around the area.

She stopped by and browsed the Stationary Store to see if there was anything new, but realized there was nothing that caught her fancy. That was particularly true when the sales lady tried to sell her a high quality quill. Why bother using a quill when a fountain pen is much better? A few weeks ago, she tried to explain the benefits to the owner who failed to see the reason why they needed to switch out the quills. She decided that if they were going to be stubborn about it, she tried to see if she could purchase the store outright but was once again refused by the owner. Since then she had been developing various plans that would possibly help improve the wizarding world. While the magical world did not need to be a carbon copy of the mundane world, it did not mean they should not adopt things that could help improve their lifestyle.

Knowing that magical Britain is way behind the times, Harriet knew that if done carefully, there is much that one can do to capitalize on the many opportunities that is being offered.

She decided to head over to Flourish and Blotts once more before a blond hair boy walked out from Madame Malkin's and ran into her causing her to fall.

"Oi! Watch where you are going." The boy sneered at her. Harriet glared at the boy as she gathered herself. It was Draco with his parents who stood right under the doorway of the shop they were leaving from. She gathered herself up and looked at him straight back and then looked at his parents.

"I take it that you are his parents?" she asked.

Lucius Malfoy did not reply at all looking at her dismissively as Narcissa nodded. Drace was fuming seeing that she did not apologize to him and instead directed the conversation to his parents.

"Indeed we are. Are you alright?" Narissa asked.

She looked for a brief moment and purposefully looked at the ring on Lucius' hand before replying.

"Yes, I was Lady Malfoy until your son ran into me without watching where he was going and blaming me for being in his way."

Lucius eyebrows twitched a bit and actually looked at the girl who was chastising his family. While he was displeased with her words he could not help but agree. His son did run out from the store and ran into her. However, as a Malfoy, they did not apologize to another person of lower stature then them. Before he or his wife could reply back, Draco intervened.

"The only one who needs manners is you," Draco replied. "You should show respect to a Pure-blood, particularly to those from the House of Malfoy."

Harriet raised an eyebrow at him with clear amusement in her eyes confusing Draco and intriguing his parents. She noticed a slight presence of someone trying to pry into her mind. She simply held her Occlumency shields and looked pointedly at Lucius with a smirk. Lucius looked back at her first in surprise then in interest.

"If only you knew who you were talking too, Draco," she said as she turned and walked away. "I will see you at the Sorting."

"How do you know who I am? Who are you?" he demanded.

She turned and gave him a mysterious smile. "You will see."

With that she faded into the crowd and moved towards the bookstore to see what else was new. Upon arrive she waves to the employees working there and started browsing through some of the newest books that were released. When she looked up after reading the excerpt of the book she held, she froze for a moment. She thought she was seeing things, but just fifteen feet away from her was her old friend, Hermione Granger, looking around staring at all the books that were in the store. It tore at her seeing her best friend standing right there without a care in the world, completely drawn in by the books. She had to withhold herself from jumping the poor girl and embracing her. Tears threatening to come out, Harriet quickly turned and moved to another area of the bookstore to compose herself.

After taking a few moments to compose herself, Harriet took a deep breath and walked over to the counter and was once more greeted by the attendant there. She quietly requested to meet the manager and the attendant nodded and went to the back room. Within moments the attendant came back and informed Harriet that the manager will see her shortly and manned the counter once more. The manager came out and escorted her to his office and closed the door.

"Welcome back, Lady Peverell," the manager replied once the door was shut. "How may we help you today?"

The manager of Flourish and Blotts was Edmond Blotts. He was a man looking to be in his mid-fifties who had a huge passion for books. Edmond believed that time is never wasted if it was ever to be used to seek knowledge. Knowing that, Harriet approached the man with a proposal that Edmond readily agreed to. With her more recent investment in addition to her original shares, she owned half of the store as a silent partner with Edmond Blotts owning the other half. Due to that, whenever she wished to speak to him, he would take the time off to meet with her when possible.

"I just got in touch with my team and it seems that they may be a lead in regards to the Lockhart's issue. There is nothing concrete yet, however, there is at least one story that has been verified and disproved that Lockhart had done it."

Edmond smiled sadly at the news. "I guess we should prepare pulling the books from the shelves?"

Harriet shook her head. "Just do not order any more of them. When the time comes we may have the publisher absorb the cost for this. But until we have concrete evidence, we should hold off for now. I do not want to cause any unnecessary problems with the costumers yet."

He nodded in understanding.

"I mainly wished to rely that news to you. When the time comes, I shall have my team speak with you directly on this matter."

"As you wish."

"Also I have a request for you, there is a girl with a bushy brown hair currently browsing the books in your store. She seems to have fallen in love with the store and may have some difficulties, once she has to make decisions on which books to get. Would you be able to provide her a "complimentary" gift of 100 Galleons? I do believe that may help her a bit and would be most welcoming."

She pulled out a 100 Galleons for Edmond who eagerly agreed to do as she asked. She thanked him and slowly walked out the store. Before she left, she turned noticed Edmond approach Hermione telling her that she was to have a complimentary gift from Flourish and Blotts. The squeal of delight was enough for Harriet to know that the small gift would be put to good use. Content, she decided to head back to her room. She noticed a letter from Hogwarts waiting for her stating that they could not provide her with a copy of the handbook as only the faculty and staff have the handbook with only one copy available in the Hogwarts library. She immediate wrote back stating that she is willing to pay for the cost for the handbook and that a copy be made for her before the end of the summer if possible. With that, she put the letter away to send later in the morning.

* * *

Lucius leaned against the chair in his study thinking about the young girl who stood in front of them in a defiantly yet cool manner. He was going over various books and lists of Noble Houses. He caught a small glimpse of the ring on the girl's hand and he was trying to identify who she was. Unfortunately, time and again he was not having any luck looking for…

 _There!_ He thought to himself and found the House crest that he nearly overlooked. He was not completely sure, but the crest had an uncanny resemblance to the design on her ring. He leaned forward to look at the name beside the crest.

 _House of Peverell_

"Bloody hell," he muttered. He rubbed his eyes in disbelieve and fatigue and looked at the image once more to verify it was what he thought he saw. His eyes widened and he became more alert as the information began to seep in. If what he found was true. He may have ran into the lost heiress to the Peverell line, if not someone who was at least connected to them. He would have to be sure about that, after all, why does the Peverell line show up now when the line was thought to be been gone? Some Houses claim to be descended from the Peverell family, but none were able to truly claim the House. Also, if she truly was a descendant of the Peverell line, then such union between the two Houses would strengthen the position of the house that unites with that family.

Lucius leaned back into his seat and sighed. Only time would truly tell is she really is related to them or if her surname just happened to be a mere coincidence. He mentally berated himself for forgetting that the family already left a bad impression for her due to his son. Come to think of it, it may be better to talk to him about that. He summoned Draco and Narcissa to his study.

Narcissa arrived a few moments before Draco and Lucius use that time to briefly relay his finding to her. Narcissa's eyes widened at the news.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Fairly certain," Lucius replied. "However, we will need to verify if what I am thinking is to be true."

At that moment Draco finally arrived.

"Yes, father?" Draco asked, clearly annoyed that his father called for him late that night. He was about the head off to bed when he received his father's summons.

"Close the door and take a seat, Draco." Lucius stated watching Draco do as asked.

"I would like to discuss what happened earlier today. I know that we have told you about our ways and traditions. However, you may need to display some more tact when interacting with others. I will have to warn you that such actions display more as a Gryffindor than as a Slytherin."

"Ugh," Draco looked disgusted. "How can could you think of me being in Gryffindor, father? I would die of shame should that happen."

Lucius raised his hands to stop any further argument from his son.

"The reason I am saying that is that you indeed are acting like one, especially today. You acted and spoke brashly. Had you have watched your surroundings, you would not have ran into her and you would have noticed that she was also associated to a Noble line herself. One that is quite possibly older and more prestigious than our own. While that is not verified, it just means that you will have to be careful how to tread with her and others."

Draco eyes perked up at that bit realizing that he may have insulted a Noble and Ancient House. While the Malfoys were still a prestigious and respected House, due to the fall of the Dark Lord, they have been under watchful eye of the Ministry. While Lucius had bribed various people within, he was told by his father that not every one of them was vulnerable to bribes. Sometimes, one had to befriend a few that Lucius originally thought was beneath them. However, as time passed Lucius realized that his original ideology was a bit extreme and began to carefully balance purity and tradition along with change and talent. He even delved into some information in regards to his old master, Voldemort, and later found to his horror that Voldemort was not even Pure-blooded. This made Lucius wonder why his own father, Abraxas Malfoy, followed this man and had him follow the Dark Lord as well.

Since then, Lucius swore to do what was best for the family rather than just following all the Pure-blood agendas as he used to do. While he may still hold to tradition and the old ways, he understood that he would have to tread carefully with the way things are now that he learned the truth about certain individuals. This was something he was trying to teach his son as well. The art of guile and manipulation. The classic game of strategy and trickery while cautiously observing how things unfold.

Thus, while in public the Malfoys may still act like a bigoted Pure-blood, they secretly observe to see what is truly beneficial to the society and how to revive the old ways.

With Draco thinking over what his father said that night and promising to be more tact, his son left for bed as he escorted his wife to their bedchambers for the evening.


	5. The Rat, the Witch, and the Wizengamot

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** When I originally wrote this out, I wanted to add some things from this chapter to the previous one, but I realized it was getting pretty long and decided to cut it and make it a separate chapter. It was a good thing that happened as the previous chapter was bloody long. With the addition I added, it became even longer. Sadly (for me), I have been adding more and more to this one as well. I originally was hoping to write like 3,000 - 5,000 words per chapter when I started this story, but these are getting to be really long chapters. Also, do note that Harriet's alternative identity is Liliana. So please do not be confused when Harriet's and Liliana's names are being used as they are the same person.

Please excuse any grammar and/or spelling errors.

Reviews always appreciated. If you prefer to private message, that works too (even if it is just to say hello).

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - The Rat, the Witch, and the Wizengamot**

Liliana sat across from two other gentlemen who were going over some documents, some which she provided, others that they brought themselves. Inwardly, she was nervous on the results. In front of her sat two people who would help her deal with various issues she was facing. One man was the Private Investigator she hired who went by the name, James Walter Moore. He was an average looking man who would not have stood out from any crowd making it easier for him to gather information in a subtle manner. The other man was his partner and lawyer, William Robert Haynes. Unlike his partner, William is a fairly well known and respected lawyer in both the magical and non-magical society. He was known to be fair and honest in his practice proving him to be a much desired lawyer to employ, as long as one had the coin to pay. Both they and Liliana went over the various parchments scattered over the dining table in one of the small private rooms in the Leaky Cauldron.

The three made sure to cast silencing charms and implemented other various spells that would ensure their privacy.

"Well, Miss White," William stated after going over through quite a few documents. "It seems like we will have a case against Mister Lockhart. There are definitely some evidence that James found that will definitely implicate him to the suspected crimes. However, I would like to make sure that we gather as much information as possible before we press forward with this. It may take at least a few months to make sure our facts and sources are confirmed once more. Rest assured though, we will be able to move this into action."

Liliana sighed with relief knowing that she will be hopefully snipping one giant headache before it got any serious. Speaking of serious…

"Thank you, Mister Haynes. And what of the DMLE matter with Sirius Black?"

"We are in touch with Madame Bones and will be in trial for Lord Black. However, without the real culprit, there will still be some doubts as to Lord's Blacks innocents even if he is cleared of all charges. In fact, with the current Ministry, it would be rather difficult to press on with the case," William responded while a bit hesitant. Despite what Liliana explained to him, William still had some reservations in regards to Sirius' innocence. He and his partner did express time and again that if Sirius was truly innocent, they would like to have some more concrete evidence as well other than just the Potter's Will. While the Will itself would help immensely, there are many within the courts who would try to find numerous ways to discredit the document.

"I see," she replied. Her mind already at work in trying to figure out how to solve the situation. "If the culprit can be apprehended?"

"Then that would make our case much easier."

"Thank you," she replied taking mental note of the information provided.

"Now as for the situation with Dumbledore," James replied. "There has been nothing much in which I can try to get him on at least not without something concrete to work off with."

"Yes," William agreed. "While it his past relationship with Gellert Grindelwald would most definitely be a cause for concern, it would not be enough to truly strike a strong blow without more information. While this may provide a chance to have him lose his positions internationally, his reputation was such that he would still have much hold over Britain. Due to that, there is not much that we can do at the moment in regards to his unethical practices. While they may be unethical, without something that can act as a more recent trigger, we can only just keep gathering what we can in hopes of one to occur. Sadly, the tuition in itself is hidden and the Board of Governors are not releasing their financial report to the public."

Liliana nodded with slight frustration. She wanted to out Dumbledore immediately but it seems like it would be a slow process. And it looks like they will have to take things one at a time despite the help from the two gentlemen.

Both James and William had their own personal run-ins with Dumbledore before and neither were too pleased during their encounters with him. For James, he was a half-blood and a former Slytherin. While he may have had his fair share of run in with the school rivalry, he was furious that Dumbledore and the school allowed his blatant biased views to seep into the school system especially when some of the bullying was outright dangerous. By keeping up with his grandfatherly act and "forgetfulness," Albus was able to spend years of carefully manipulating others and slowly corrupting the youth and staff. This eventually led to many in the public to see his views as the right view and setting him as the default leader in many positions. After all, he is the one who defeated Grindelwald. Like many Slytherins, James stayed on guard throughout his years at Hogwarts. Other Slytherins did not fully trust him due to his heritage, and the rest were outright abusive due to his House affiliations. It was not until he found an unlikely friend that he began to open up.

Being ever so observant of his surroundings, then popular young Ravenclaw William, reached out his hand of friendship to James. This lead many to be outraged by William's actions and despite numerous threats to break off the friendship, William steadfastly refused. For the reminder of the years, the two were out casted from their groups and were continuously bullied until their fifth year. During that time, regardless of how many times they taken the case to Dumbledore and the other teachers, they did nothing. Even if the other professors eventually did voice their concerns, Albus would keep dismissing the issue as childish misunderstandings.

Eventually the two learned that in order to survive, they needed to work together and watch each other's back. James turned out to be adept in digging up dirt on various students and their families and while William originally used his charismatic skill to slowly befriend people now utilized the same talents to blackmail and threaten those who crossed them. This led to the two finally enjoying their last year at Hogwarts before graduation. With both wanting to have nothing to do with the magical world for a while, the two left the magical community after graduation and disappeared. It was not until years later that James and William returned. James taking joy in finding information became a private investigator, helping out various government organizations and individual families. William decided to refine himself and pursued law becoming a lawyer.

Ever since their return, they have impoverished two Noble families who originally crossed them. It turned out that the newly appointed Lords of the two families, former Gryffindors, were found to be abusive to their spouses. While abuse is not an uncommon occurrence in some marriages, the two found proof that sickened even the most forgiving member of the Wizengamot. After presenting the case, with the spouses' agreement, the two managed to successfully convict the two Lords to life sentences in Azkaban with their possessions to be forfeit for their spouses. After the trial, and with their marriage bonds severed, the two ladies were quickly rushed to St. Mungo's where they recovered slowly. During their months of recovery, William continued to check on the ladies to make sure they were alright. As they recovered and he continued to see them after they were discharged. Eventually, he fell and love and proposed to one of them. The lady in question was at first hesitant due to her previous disastrous marriage, but eventually agreed. Since then, the two had been happily married with a child born from the two of them. James on the other hand eventually married the daughter of Luton's Chief of Police which seemed to be more of a partnership between the two. He had the support of the Luton Police and access to their database and his wife had access to the secret and elusive "wizarding" society. Despite the marriage of convenience, James and his wife came to love one another and joked about who got the shorter end of the stick in their marriage.

The two men reviewed the information once more and agreed to meet up again later at the new office of theirs that was being set up in Commerce Way. While the most popular areas were Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, there are other various passages that led to other districts. Upon learning about this from James, Liliana realized just how little of she seen of the magical world itself.

It has been a few days prior that William and James decided to make preparations to move into their new facility along with their staff and assistants. While they had their own business, neither had an actual place to practice their business in. As part of the payment, Liliana provided them one of the empty buildings to be used by them for free allowing them to no worry about finances for setting up their practice. With their practice firmly rooted in one location, they could then develop a steady clientele base. In exchange, she wished for them to consider her as their preferred client. After a thorough investigation and much discussion between the two, the two approached to Liliana and agreed.

They agreed that the property itself would still be Liliana's however as the new tenants, they were allowed to make whatever changes they deem fit, within legal and reasonable means of course.

The building she provided was located near the front of the entrance to Commerce Way, allowing exposure to those within the district and those passing by. While the building was in complete disarray, the location itself allowed huge potential for the two.

She smiled at the memory where the same goblins and designers who helped with the Leaky Cauldron looked at this building in dismay seeing it in disarray. They promptly investigated the place and drew out the plans to start the renovations in the hell hole of a building. With the two gentlemen providing their own inputs in what they needed, the team began to design the new plans for their building. It did help that Liliana did offer to cover the expense for the complete overhaul of the building as part of her agreement. Unlike the Cauldron, this building was not well maintained and everyone agreed that the building had to be demolished and redone. Thus the new occupants of the building would not be able to use the facility by no later than the beginning of October. While the group would have like to have a space to move into, that did not stop them from continuing on with their task. That did not mean that they were alright with waiting, in fact, they were eagerly waiting to see how the new building would turn out to be.

The building plans itself was to four stories tall with the first two floors as offices and storage for the new law firm. With enough space for over twenty people to work comfortably and have their own private cubicles and offices if they need. With the two currently having only a team totalling of eight people, there was going to be much room for the group. There were also sleeping quarters in the upper two floors if needed allowing each person to have their own small apartment should they wish to have one with six housing units to a floor. The design was still laid out that should the third and fourth floor needed to be converted into offices, their business would easily expand without worry much on the cost to convert them once more.

 _At least they can make due with working out on a dining table for now_. Liliana thought as they all exited the private room. After exchanging pleasantries once more the three parted. As the aging potion was still in effect as it was still early in the day, Liliana decided to take a stroll down Diagon Alley once more this time to visit the Eeylops Owl Emporium. Liliana walked into the store and looked around looking for a particular owl. She remembered Hagrid buying her, Hedwig, a snowy Owl with amber eyes. She was a wonderful owl and was in a sense her best friend who was there for her through all good and bad times. They were so close to one another that Hedwig even sacrificed her life to protect Harry, something that would be considered very uncommon.

She looked around hoping to see that owl once more and see if they would be together in this life. She kept looking, her heart slowly sinking after not finding her until she suddenly felt something land on her shoulder.

"No! No!" a voice cried out. "You are not supposed to do that!"

A man appeared in from of her with some heavy gloves trying to grab whatever it was that was on her. She turned to see what it was and froze seeing amber eyes looking right back at her, its white feathered face tilted sideways as if inquiring something.

 _Hedwig_.

Tears slowly fell down her cheeks and the owl nibbled her ear lightly making her cry with joy.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, miss," the man replied thinking she was crying in fear and pain. "She is a very temperamental one. I do apologize for it hurting you."

"No, it is quite alright," she replied wiping away her tear with one hand while using the other to prevent the man from taking the owl away from her. She gestured at herself to show that the owl did not harm her or damager her clothing. Liliana was wearing some jeans with a black shirt and a light long sleeved summer jacket. While the owl's talons were still sharp, the owl seemed to have taken great care in perching on her shoulder. With the jacket protecting her as well, Liliana did not feel the talons digging into her other than the slight pressure of the white owl taking a firm grasp to maintain her balance. Liliana looked at the owl once more smiling affectionately.

"In fact, this was the owl I was looking for."

The man looked back in shock. "But, miss! There are much better owls I assure you! She has quite the temper and is very vicious. She is very hard to handle I assure-"

He stopped as Hedwig screeched at him causing Liliana to giggle a bit.

"I assure you, sir. She is exactly what I want. Is that not right, my dear Hedwig?" she turned to the owl who butted her head against Liliana in an affectionate manner.

"Well I'll be," the man stated astounded by the owls compliant attitude. "If you wish to have her the please come right this way, I have never seen her act this way before. If she is like this around you, then I am sure you two will do well together."

The man led her to the counter still muttering in disbelief at the sudden change of behaviour coming from the owl. He gave a few more warnings to Liliana about the owl's temper to which Liliana once again reassured him that she would be careful.

With that Liliana paid for Hedwig, a stand, supplies, and some treats. She requested the man to send the items to the Leaky Cauldron but walked out with Hedwig still with her on her shoulder. She wondered about a bit with Hedwig and later sent her off, telling her to head to the Leaky Cauldron and wait for her when she wishes to meet up again.

She turned to move and nearly ran into another person and quickly apologized. Looking at the person she saw a familiar looking redhead who had a no nonsense look about his face. The red haired boy looked at her momentarily stunned.

"Are you alright?" she asked looking a bit concerned.

"Ah, y-yes," he replied. "Pardon me."

She smiled and replied. "It was my fault, please forgive me."

"N-no harm done, miss."

"My, my. What do we have here?" said one voice.

"Percy is acting," said another.

"All speechless," the first continued

"In front of a girl?" said two voices emerging behind Percy who turned and glared at the two.

They were two redheaded identical twins who looked to be in their third year. They smiled at their older brother with a mischievous smile.

"Fred and George Weasley stop bothering your brother! Honestly, I do not know what I did wrong with you two." Molly Weasley came into view with two more children and berating her twin sons in front of everyone.

"Always gallivanting around causing who-knows-what trouble! I wish you both could be more like Percy here."

Liliana stood momentarily shocked. She knew she would be facing the Weasleys again, but to see them suddenly like this put a bit of a pang in her heart. She recognized the much younger Percy who seemed to be making a perfect imitation of a fish at her and looked at the twins. Her heart nearly broke when she saw Fred again. Yes, Fred was much younger, but he was still alive in this world and breathing. When she took a glance at the three boys, she smiled a bit, yes he and his brother were still mischievous as ever.

Ignoring Molly's rant at the twins, Liliana looked at the other two children who were with the group. One was a girl who looked to be barely ten holding onto her mother's hand while looking at Liliana with interest, Ginny. Liliana felt momentarily guilty of the way things ended with her and Ginny back when she was Harry Potter. She mentally shook her head and looked at the other and noticed it was Ron, who simply stared at Liliana curious to see who the person was. She smiled at them until the item that Ron was holding caught her attention.

Her attention slid to the cage he was holding. In it was a rat, one that she clearly remembered as Pettigrew.

As soon as she saw the rat, her eyes narrowed and darkened just a fraction.

"That is a lovely rat you have there," Liliana commented.

Ron merely shrugged and replied, "He rather old and useless. He just eats and sleeps seems to not be doing too well though."

"How old is he?" she asked.

"Dunno," Ron answered and shrugged. "Percy had him long before I did."

At that moment Molly turned towards her and gave her a warm smile.

"I am sorry my dear, we did not introduce ourselves. Where are our manners? Molly Weasley, pleasure to meet you," she then proceeded to introduce the other children one by one.

Once the Weasley finished their introduction, Liliana curtseyed back to them and replied, "It is a pleasure to meet the family members from the House of Weasley. My name is Liliana Jade White of the House of White."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to have beamed in approval and was about to speak when Percy suddenly spoke up.

"About Scabbers, I found him when I was young. I took care of him he has been with us since."

Mrs. Weasley looked with mild disapproval at Percy for interrupting her, but Liliana took that chance to press onwards.

"Scabbers?" she asked adding some mild interest in her voice.

"Y-yes! We named him Scabbers!"

"Really? Mind if I take a look on your rat?" Liliana asked as she turned towards Ron.

"Why?" Ron asked staring at her incredulously.

"Well from what your brother said you had your rat for quite some time and that is rather fascinating. I thought most rats only lived for three years?"

"Nearly ten!" Percy again blurted as realization suddenly hit Liliana.

 _Wait… No. Gosh no! Percy? Fancies me? Ugh. No!_

Harriet recalled that Percy liked the girl Penelope Clearwater. Other than showing interest in her, his only other main interests were studying and climbing the social ladder. While she is not meeting Percy as Harriet, it still made her feel queasy that Percy thought of her that way as Liliana.

 _In fact, weren't he and Penelope going out?_

She mentally shook her head and tried her best to push the thought aside.

Percy went over and nudged Ron to pass the cage to her, never taking his eyes off her.

Ron looked at her for a moment before handing the cage to her. Lilian thanked Ron and examined the rat carefully and found the clue she was looking for. The missing toe that Wormtail had as a rat was the same with this rat now. Confirming that this was Pettigrew in disguise, Liliana took a few more moments and looked at Ron acting surprised.

"Wow! This rat is really old! Nearly ten years old I would say." She exclaimed. "That is very impressive!"

Molly seeing an opening jumped into the conversation.

"I am sorry, my dear for causing such a ruckus," she began. "Children these days simply have a hard time behaving."

 _They are if you keep trying to control them_. She thought but pushed that thought aside and smiled at her. After all, Molly was the type who would forever fuss over others even if the one receiving her attention was not welcoming it. Liliana shook her head and stated that it was alright with her.

"Not at all, Mrs. Weasley," Liliana replied. "In fact, I do admire that they do seem to know what they wish."

Molly was delighted to see such a well-mannered girl. _Lovely looking, well mannered, depending on her occupation, she could be a suitable bride for Bill or Charlie._ She thought.

"May I inquire what you do, Miss White?"

"I do some property management, but have been focusing more on other needs such as trying to find ways to better our society through various research and supporting local businesses."

"I see," Molly slightly frowned a bit not approving of such an active girl, a woman should be taking more of an active role caring for the family, be an assistant for an executive or even a healer at St Mungo's Hospital. Such roles are the prestigious roles for a proper lady. However, that could easily be overlooked considering from what little information that Molly just got by this meeting, her dress, and her mannerisms, this girl seemed to come from a fairly wealthy background.

"Which reminds me," Liliana continued looked at Ron. "Mister Ronald Weasley, would you be interested in selling that rat to me? I am very surprised at how long the rat has lived. Far longer than other rats I have known. One of my research actually happens to be finding ways to extend the lifespan of our pets and familiars. It may help in finding why the rat has lived and see if that would be something we could replicate for other pets."

Ron looked like he was not interested and so she decided to push a bit. It was rather difficult to put her attention on Ron with Percy openly gawking at her.

"I would be willing to pay handsomely for the rat."

That certainly got his interest. Liliana mentally shook her head. While food always caught his attention, money and fame had always been a better motivation factor for him.

"How much are we talking about?" he asked greed shining clearly in his eyes.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! You should not me asking her that!" Molly hissed and began to berate her son, but Liliana intervened.

"Lady Weasley. I am perfectly alright with him asking and it is a fair question. If you do not wish for your son to sell his rat to me, I understand perfectly."

"No," Molly replied. "That is alright, I just did not want things to go over his head."

Liliana nodded and turned back to Ron.

"Mr. Wealsey? How much would you said is fair for your pet rat?"

"At least 100 Galleons," he replied causing his mother to gasp and whack him on the head. Just as she was about to tell him off Liliana spoke up.

"You have a deal."

The Wealsey's stood silent in shock at the girl who immediately agreed to the outrageous price for a rat. While yes the rat did live quite a while, no rat was worth 100 Galleons! She looked at the girl in disbelief and was about to shake her head before stopping. If the girl was that willing to spend for a rat, she may be willing to let her future husband spend quite a bit of money, money that could perhaps help her in-laws. Yes, a courteous and proper girl for one of her boys. However, now was not the time to try and cook up such a plan, she had to be the proper mother.

With that, Molly stepped in and stated that she cannot let her son have that much money in which Ron whined and complained. Liliana then tried to compromise stating that she would pay the 100 Galleons and Molly would watch over it so that she can control Ron's spending to which she agreed to. Ron complained about not being able to spend it and stated that he did not want to sell the rat if he was not going to get it. Molly simply stated that either he could have a 100 Galleons which she would put to safe keeping for him or he would not have any. He reluctantly agreed to the terms and Liliana gave Molly the 100 Galleons and was handed Scabbers, the rat, cage and all. With that she thanked the family and after chatting for a bit longer, with Molly trying to invite her over to introduce her to the rest of the family (particular her two oldest sons). Eventually they parted ways with Liliana giving a vague promise to be in touch with her.

She watched the Weasley family walked off with Molly clearly happy that they did not have to go to the Magical Menagerie anymore for, according to her, the horrible rodent. As they walked off, Liliana heard her mentioning about the rat scaring her few times while she was in the kitchen. It would have been rather comical to see children following their mother, the twins imitating her from behind had it not been for the eldest looking back at her a few more times. Wanting to avoid the situation, Liliana immediately darted through the crowd in the opposite direction.

 _Wow. I did not know she was like that_. Liliana knew Mrs. Weasley was demanding and controlling, but to be upfront and try and pressure strangers put her off more. It may have been due to experiencing the Dursley family's abuse to the Weasley family's care that made him not question the over dotting and control. However, when she looks back at the time, she realized that Molly was very controlling in her relationship. While she definitely loves her kids and does try to do what she thinks is best for them, she tries to do what she can to control every aspect of her life and those around her. One of the greatest examples she remembered was Bill's relationship with Fleur. Molly kept intervening on their relationship and when she eventually approved, tried to dictate the whole wedding herself.

While she herself did like Molly's coddling sometimes, it was a bit overbearing on other times. However, it was Percy's constant staring at her that made her feel really uncomfortable. She shook her head and decided to try and avoid Percy as much as possible as Liliana.

As she headed down Diagon Alley, she could not believe her luck. She finally got the stupid rat and things were finally going her way. William and James were working on the cases against Lockhart and Dumbledore, Sirius will be free soon, and she will eventually have time to find where _her_ bloody godfather is. Hopefully, after all this, she will finally have a peaceful life that she yearned for.

" _Keep that up and trouble will find you_!" a voice hissed behind her.

Liliana paused and turned to locate the source of the voice.

"But, ma!" A little boy whined as he was being dragged away by a woman away from the Knockturn Alley entrance.

"Children should not be meddling in places at all the time! You do not know what trouble you could be causing!"

Liliana shook her head ignoring the thought, she thought it was someone else that was speaking to her, but it was simply a mother scolding her child.

She walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron motioning to Hedwig, who sat near the exit to come to her. Hedwig did garner a few attentions and relished at the attention, however seeing Liliana, immediately followed her in. Together, they entered the Cauldron and went up to her room. She played with Hedwig who mainly nuzzled her and hooted softly as Scabbers watched with interest from its cage next to the bed.

"Think you are up for delivering a letter for me?" she asked Hedwig who nodded in reply.

She walked over to her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and her pen and began writing.

 _To Madame Amelia Bones,_

 _Would you be able to stop by the Leaky Cauldron and meet me in one of their private rooms by this evening or tomorrow with some Aurors? I may have some sensitive information pertaining to the Black case and would like to ensure it is safely in your hands._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Liliana White_

She tied the letter to Hedwig and asked her to deliver it as soon as possible. After sending Hedwig off, she put away her writing supplies and moved Scabbers cage to the desk. Scabbers looked at her with much curiosity and moving about sniffing its surroundings. Liliana knew Peter was checking out his surroundings and trying to wonder what was going on.

"There, there little one," she spoke to it. "Don't worry you will be taken care of. Until then would you like to have a treat?"

The rat nodded and she got up to grab some treats for Scabbers. She watched Scabbers eat greedily and she tried not to look at it with disgust.

 _Just like Ron. Food flying everywhere and still trying to stuff more into its mouth_.

She decided to have her meal upstairs as well and went down to ask for meal to be brought up within an hour or so. Tom nodded and stated that her meal would be ready and delivered by then. She thanked Tom and went back up only to grab a book from her trunk and started reading.

Her meal arrive and she put the book away, thanking the person who brought the tray of food and drinks to her and giving them a Galleon as a tip. The girl who brought the meal looked thanked Liliana leaving her to eat in peace. As she finished eating, she offered a few titbits from her plate to Scabbers who snatched the food and scarfed it down.

 _Enjoy this meal, Pettigrew. It probably will be your last nice meal ever_. She thought. By no later than tomorrow Pettigrew should be safely hauled-

A knocking on the door stopped her trail of thoughts.

Liliana opened the door and looked at the same girl who gave her the tray.

"There are some people here to see you, miss," she replied. "Also, if you are finished with your meal, I can take it down for you."

"That would be lovely, and thank you," Liliana replied moving aside to let the girl pick up her tray as she picked up Scabbers' cage. They walked downstairs together and the girl directed her a room in the back. She walked in and immediately came face to face with Amelia Bones and four other Aurors. One of them quickly closed the door while another casted the silencing charm. Immediately Scabbers started making noise and running about in the cage, trying to get out.

"What on ear-" Amelia began as one of the Aurors stunned the frantic rat to silence it. While it may have been better to use the silencing spell, due to his haste, he used the Stunning spell which was used to using more.

"Sorry about that," Liliana exclaimed as she set the cage on the table, "I did not realize that he would squeal like that."

The Aurors looked a bit surprised at her reaction, while some other families would have screamed bloody murder for attacking their pet, she seemed to have been completely unfazed.

"Your information, by the way," Liliana stated, gesturing to the rat.

"Pardon?"

"That is an Animagus," Liliana clarified.

Amelia gestured for another Auror to check the rat.

"Definitely an Animagus, Madame Bones," the Auror replied after casting a few spells on the rat.

They took the rat out of the cage and forced the rat back as a human revealing a very dirty Peter Pettigrew. With a quick gesture, the Aurors bound him in cuffs that prevented him from turning back to an Animagus and three of them carried him off.

Liliana watched all this with a satisfied smirk.

"If I may have a few moment of your time please, Miss White?" Madame Bones asked.

"Of course," she replied and took a set and watched as Amelia and the remaining Auror took a seat.

"How were you able to find out where he was and that he was an Animagus?"

Liliana smiled. "I knew that he was an Animagus due to the stories I heard long ago from a relative of mine. You see, he and a few others got their Animagus form a while ago. My relative told me that he was a stag Animagus while Pettigrew was a rat. Earlier this morning I found and obtained Pettigrew after being able to identify from my relative's description of what the rat looked like. I also remembered on the news that Pettigrew was missing a finger and looking at the rat, it was also missing the very same finger. While there was a chance of all this being mere coincidence, I believed it was better to contact you immediately."

"I see," Bones replied. They spent some more talking about Pettigrew and Sirius' trial and later parted. Before leaving Bones notified to her when the trial would take place and Liliana stated that she will be there.

* * *

It was on the 20th of August, just less than two weeks before Hogwarts, when Harriet received a letter from the DMLE.

 _To Lady Liliana Jade White._

 _We would like to request your presence for the next Wizengamot meeting on the 23_ _rd_ _of August to confirm your eligibility for the Wizengamot Seat for the House of Potter as well as to attend the Wizengamot session._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

 _Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards_

Harriet smiled when she looked at the letter and smiled. It looked to be one of those generic letters that were sent to the recipients with the copy of the representative's signature. Still she found it amusing that in a sense Dumbledore was presenting her the chance to claim her seat.

She began to prepare herself for the Wizengamot session.

From what Harriet knew, the Wizengamot had changed a lot over time. When Harriet sorted through the information that was shoved into her and also reading up on some various books (a few that were even hard to get), she learned of many things. One which revealed to her was the changes over the years within the British Isles and the main continent. Before there was the Ministry of Magic, the Wizengamot was established to keep the order of the wizarding world on the Isles. It originally was formed by twenty-five different Houses with forty other Houses joining them over the next fifty years since their formation. By the time that the Wizengamot was firmly established, another sixty more Houses joined. While all those Houses are considered Noble and Ancient Houses, there was still a hierarchy within those ranks.

The originally 25 were the called the Golden Houses. They were the original founders of the governing body of today. As the original Houses, their Seats were given the rights to have two votes instead of the normal one once other houses were included into the Wizengamot.

With two votes, this meant that the Golden Houses held a lot of power to form the Wizengamot to be as they wished. Also, as the only members who held permanent membership to the Wizengamot, the twenty-five Houses in a sense created a system where they would be on the top of the British wizarding world. While others grumbled against the unfair system, they all agreed that it did initially create some sort of stability for the magical community. While many of the Golden House kept much of the power within their families, many of those Houses used their power to better the world. However, as time went by, many of the original Houses eventually faded away.

The Silver Houses consisted of 40 families who helped assist the Golden Houses in forming a governing body. While they cannot approve of granting a House Noble status, they along with the Gold Houses were the only ones who were given the authority to petition for a new House to join the Wizengamot. Should their lines be decimated, any cadet lines are automatically granted the right to claim the seat before it left vacant for others to claim. Unlike the Golden Houses, they were given the right to only one vote per Seat.

The Bronze Houses were the lowest of the Noble and Ancient Houses, consisting of 60 Houses. Granted with one vote per Seat, these Houses could participate within the Wizengamot. Even with such influence, they could not elevate another House to a higher position and could only convince a House of higher status to petition. If their line dies out, unlike the Gold and Silver Houses, a cadet branch from a Bronze House would have to petition and be approved by a majority vote from the Wizengamot to join. If not, a new House can be given the chance to apply as a future member and if accepted by a two-thirds vote, they would be given the seat instead.

Finally there was the Chief Warlock. The Warlock presides over the Wizengamot overseeing all the procedure within the organization. They are not granted any rights to vote unless the initial votes results in a deadlock. Should such a vote come to a tie, the Chief Warlock may step in and cast their own vote. Other than that, the Chief Warlock does not have any actual power to vote or present a case before the Wizengamot. They would only regulate and oversee the sessions.

And so the original Wizengamot was formed from 125 magical families 150 votes in total.

However, over the past couple hundred years, with the introduction of the Ministry much later in the years, the Wizengamot began to change. As the Golden Houses died out and many of the Bronze Houses clamoured for reform and changed the Wizengamot to what is it known today. With the help of the Ministry, and other lesser Houses, the Wizengamot was changed drastically giving the Ministry more power and presence within the Wizengamot. With the reformed Wizengamot, only 50 Seats were available with two more created for the Minister and Undersecretary leading to a total of 52 votes. Another change that was made was that the Chief Warlock could vote as well should they wish. While roughly 30 of the Seats were still held by the Noble and Ancient Houses, 10 others were appointed by the Ministry while another 10 were appointed in by other families and approved without going through the proper process. With the reformation and over a few hundred years of corruption that immediately followed it, the Wizengamot stagnated and progress within the British Isles began to slow down to a halt.

While the reformation was in a sense a success, allowing more changes and opportunity for others during the time of reformation, it lead to changes and opportunity towards a stagnant society where those who created and/or supported the change to remain on top of society.

While Harriet supported progress, she was also one who began to appreciate some of the older traditions as they did bring about progress more than the current "traditions" have as of late. This was one of the many things Harriet vowed to change once she had the information available. In fact she made a list of what she would do. Sighing to herself she pulled out a piece of parchment and reviews the simple list of her to do list that she had slowly been working on throughout the summer. There were a few things that she wrote out and scratched off, but her eyes went to the latest goals she had listed for now.

 _Things to Do (That I have For Now)_

 _1\. Free Padfoot and get in touch with Moony after Wormtail is taken care of._

 _2\. Find Moony and see where he is (might need to get point one going for this one to probably work)._

 _3\. Improve the education system as it is abysmal. Replace staff if need and change/improve curriculums (Houses will help on this, but may still be a life goal)._

 _4\. Improvement on commerce and introduce change to improve the welfare of the wizarding society._

 _5\. Restore and improve the Wizengamot and stop having it stagnate actual progress (probably a life goal)._

 _6\. Finish reading the bloody Handbook that McGonagall finally sent to me_.

It was a simple list but at least gave Harriet a goal in what to do. Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she washed up and drank another aging potion and headed off to acquire an appropriate wardrobe for the Wizengamot. Going to Twilfitt and Tattings, she had her robes done in the highest quality silk sparing no expense to make it. Once it was fitted and ready, she took her new Wizengamot robes and went back to her room in preparations for the meeting.

Slowly things began to fall in place and it was time for Liliana to soon start playing making her first move that would change the wizarding world.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So, with the Wizengamot, I decided to make a comparison between the J.K. Rowling version and mine. Rowling's version is the Wizengamot as it is known during Harry's time. It consists of the Chief Warlock, 50 Seats, plus 2 Seats for the Minister and Undersecretary. Mine of course was to show that there were more seats than before and there was a difference in the structure as to how things changed. While the reformation was in demand for change to "better" society, it was actually more of a power grab and restructuring of the governing body as the oldest families died out and/or lost power. This led to the stagnation of progress that we saw in the Harry Potter stories (lack of fountain pen, and other items, using other things that existed in the Muggle world for quite some time that could help the community). Eventually, some of the families that gained power (or more like took power) styled themselves as purebloods. With them on top now, they also prevented growth from occurring to ensure they stay on top and created a new "tradition".

 **UPDATE:** Also, for the following chapter... it says you may skip. That chapter is not really part of the story and some readers apparently are upset about that. So please feel free to skip it if you wish. Just wanted to give you a notice on that. Thanks for your support though!


	6. For My Entertainment (You May Skip)

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **Author's Note:** This is actually an extra. Mainly someone breaking the fourth wall and not really connected to the actual story. If you wish, to just continue to the actual story, please skip to the next one. This is just an extra chapter. Sorry for the grammar issues by the way. I do review and spell check, but not really the best editor myself.

Again this chapter is NOT MANDATORY to follow the actual story.

 **Chapter None Needed – For My Entertainment (YOU MAY SKIP THIS CHAPTER)**

* * *

You find yourself in a white room sitting in from of a dark hooded figure who is peering down at you from across the desk that is covered with sheaves of paper. The figure, in its dark tattered hooded robe holds an empty wine glass and is slowly pouring itself what looks to be a bottle labeled Chateau Margaux 1787.

The figure sets the bottle aside and takes its time savoring the wine it poured itself.

"Mmhm," the figure exclaimed, "I must thank the fool who thought it was wise to carry this to their grave. I have not had this one in a while."

For a moment you stare at the figure. You could not actually see any facial feature from the figure itself as if it was completely swallowed up by the void of darkness. Yet despite the black and dark face, you could clearly see two black eyes staring right back at you. It did not make sense that you would be able to see such eyes in such darkness, but yet those haunting, menacing, looking eyes looks back to you without blinking.

"I see that some of you are enjoying the work that my slave is doing for you," it stated.

Mixed emotions come through you whether you want to clarify or correct the figure, whether you are wondering how you got here, whether you are wondering why something as ridiculous as this is happening you realize you could not move, could not even make a noise. Like a paralyzed figure sitting as still as a statue, you could do nothing but simply watch as the figure looks at you with what seems to be amusement.

The figure chuckles and leans back in a rather relaxed pose.

"You thought that all this would be fun and merry and dandy. You thought that this would be another powerful story of a 'Harry Potter' getting what he wants. You thought that this was a story of 'Harry Potter' being the so called 'Master of Death' did you not?"

You hear a low chuckle coming from what you know as Death from the first chapter. The chuckle sending shivers down your spine as you know that you might have done something wrong.

"Of course I clearly explained to the young Miss Peverell who was, back then, young Mister Potter. But apparently a few of you just did not understand that I meant what I said."

Death reaches out into the air and pulls what looks to be a scroll out from thin air and unrolls it and begins reading parts of it.

"Harry Potter as the Master of Death, Master of Death Harry, Deadly Hallows Master, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."

There was a long uncomfortable pause as Death seems to allow you to disgust this. Suddenly you see Death appear right in front of you its hooded face just mere inches from you. Even being that close, you still could only see the dark eyes that seem to give off a very cold feeling, the feeling of goosebumps, the feel like something icy just washed over you. Not able to move, not able to look away, not able to even make any noise or even speak, dread washes over you as you feel exposed.

"I thought I clearly mentioned that 'NO ONE is my master,'" Death spoke, its cold breath making you feel like you would rather spend the rest of your life in Antarctica rather than spend another hour feeling its breath. Death slowly pulled back.

"And I know what you are thinking, you think my slave is the one making me do this? HA! You thought wrong," it exclaimed, "My slave did not want to, but you made me intervene. You thought that I could be tamed? You thought that things would be well for the so called 'Conqueror of Death' and all would end well for the character? No. You will understand that as much as one could gain from me, they could easily lose it."

Death seemed to glide back to its own chair and leaned back against the back rest once more.

"You thought that Miss Peverell was powerful? You thought that she would be my master? You thought that things would go her way? Oh you shall see just how powerless she can be. Remember, I merely allowed her a second chance a chance that I could take away at any time I wish."

Death slowly chuckled once more.

"You see, since you were oh so trying to mold things into your perspective, I shall 'liven this up' for you. Oh come now. You honestly did not think that I Death could break the fourth wall? Of course I can. After all, wherever there is life, there is Death. Hopefully, this will, liven things up for some of you?"

You slowly notice the room fading away.

"Toodle-oo," Death calls out as the room and Death dissolves completely away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** You really did not need to read this chapter if you did not want to. If you get upset by this... I'm sorry? I did put up before hand that you may skip this chapter. Regardless of reading this or not, thank you though.


	7. Outmaneuvered

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Please note again that Harriet's alternative identity is Liliana. So please do not be confused when Harriet's and Liliana's names are being used as they are the same person. On a side note… I really do not like FFN formatting. Just realized that FFN does not allow certain types of page breaks and etc. While I am usually too lazy to fix that, I decided to fix a few of the previous chapters while I still have the will to do so.

Again like before, sorry for the horrible grammar and etc. I do edit and spell check, but I am known to fail in the delicate art of writing well. Please feel free to note if I am horrible at spelling or grammar. If there is a particular spot you could point out, that is even better.

Also, I did split this chapter into two as both chapters were lengthy enough to be their own chapters.

Reviews always appreciated. PMs are also alright as well.

 **Chapter 6 – Outmaneuvered**

The 23rd arrived and Liliana walked to the Ministry wearing her formal robes for the occasion. This was a fairly big moment for her. While her real self was to attend Hogwarts, her other self was to take on the seat and start getting the Magical world to progress once more. This also included a trial for Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. While on the official agenda that was released to the members did not state so, with the help from Amelia, Liliana was able to slip the trial in to this session. With that, she was certain to ensure that any opposition would lack the time to provide an effective counter argument and condemn the man back to Azkaban.

At the entrance to the Ministry, she met with William along the way and together they walked down the hallway to the lifts that would take them to the courtroom. As William ushered Liliana into the lift, he slipped her a small folder and nodded to her as she passed. Taking the folder, she nodded slightly in thanks as they began to descend. Once arriving at their designated floor, the two entered the chamber where other members were taking their seats. Her entrance caused the room to fall silent as the current occupants of the room noticed an unfamiliar face for the first time.

"Lady White," William muttered to her. "I believe that that we should take our seats."

"Good luck, Mister Haynes," she replied in agreement.

With that the two separated and headed to their respective seats.

Dumbledore sat on the seat of the Chief Warlock and looked at the young lady clearly wearing a rather elegant set of robes. As this was a closed session to the public and only members of the Wizengamot were allowed, he was quite curious as to why a newcomer was allowed into the Wizengamot. He beckoned to Elphias Doge who sat near him to come closer. Once he approached, Albus leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Elphias, would you happen to know who the young lady is?"

Elphias looked towards the direction that Albus indicated, his eyes narrowed a bit in confusion.

"That is Liliana White," he replied, "She is here to claim the Potter Seat as a distant relative."

"Oh?" Albus remarked motioning him to continue.

"Yes," Elphias responded, "Apparently, she part of a branch that broke off from the Potters and lived on the main continent? I apologize Albus, but I honestly do not know much of her. I thought you would have known as a missive was sent to her to attend on your behalf."

"Oh!" Dumbledore replied, "It must have slipped my mind. Yes. Yes. Definitely forgot."

Elphias looked at him quizzically for a moment before shaking his head.

"Would that be all?"

"Ah, yes. Indeed, Elphias. Thank you," Dumbledore replied, "Just needed to refresh my memory a bit."

Elphias went back to his seat as Albus leaned back against his seat, carefully looking at the young woman who entered the room.

 _I am sorry my dear_. He thought. _But I am afraid that you will not be receiving the Seat._

For years Albus had been trying to place someone within his influence onto the Potter Seat with little success. Most of the candidates were not suitable to take the position. Those that were suitable were quickly shot down by the opposition, without someone actually related to the Potters taking up the Seat, an overwhelming majority of the Wizengamot had to approve of the candidate that was to take over the existing seat.

Albus knew that there while he may not have the actual numbers within his own control to outright bar her from being accepted by the rest of the Wizengamot to take the Seat, there were plenty of members who would naturally be cautious of an unknown claiming the Seats. The Light that do not follow him would reject her in possible fear that she would not align with them. The Dark would do the same likewise. While Albus would like to have control of the absent seat, it was better to ensure that it would be left vacant and that no one had it if he was not able to control it himself.

That was of course she was not related to the Potters and if distantly related, be so far distant that she would not be eligible to simply claim the seat. Albus quickly went over his knowledge of the Potters and from what he was able to gain from the James Potter. Unfortunately, much of the information about the Potters were barred from him due to Charles Potter's (James' father) meddling. Despite that, Albus managed to glean quite a bit of the history of the Potters and from what he knew, there had been no close relatives other than the Blacks through Dorea Potter née Black. However, even on the Black side, there was no one eligible to claim the seat, which he could recall.

Smiling to himself, he waited for the room to settle down and watched the young lady, expecting her to sit on one of the benches to be called as it was customary for those petitioning to be on the Wizengamot. His smile immediately turned into a frown, which his hid immediately, as she continued passed those seats and was walking up the stairs. This brought about a sudden hush as those witnessing the young lady moving onward in a purposeful manner only to take a seat in that was designated for the House of Potter.

Suddenly, noise erupted as many who were present expressed their outrage by this action. Many called for her to sit back down at the benches as she had no right to just sit there. Some even clamored to have her thrown out of the Wizengamot for her behavior. Dumbledore's eyes narrowed just a slight bit in puzzlement as the young woman clearly did not look confused, but rather poised and calm despite the commotion that was going around her. She seemed to blatantly ignore the remarks from other members of the court. He waited for a few moments to allow the room to say their piece at this act knowing that by allowing more people to express their anger on this matter would only assure that, the disregard to protocol, would assure her remaining chance of gaining the Seat to diminish. Eventually, he banged the gavel to keep order to the room and the members began to settle down once more.

"Miss," Dumbledore called out looking directly at her as the assembled body took their seats. "I would have to ask you to take your seat on the benches. You are not allowed to sit at that seat unless you have been granted approval."

As the young lady looked up to look back right at him, Dumbledore discreetly probed her mind to see what her motive was.

Liliana felt something trying to probe her mind. Trying as it was obviously unsuccessful as Liliana was able to see Dumbledore's widen a bit in surprise. Had she have not been looking at him intently, she would not have seen the look of momentary surprise that he shown.

"Good, sir," she replied her voice calm and cool. "I would like to inform you that it is rather better manners to ask beforehand."

Murmuring arose from the audience.

"Quite so," Dumbledore replied smoothly, "As such for you to-"

"As for me sitting here," the young lady cut of Albus to the shock of several members of the Wizengamot, "I am merely claiming the seat as is my right."

"Your right?" an elderly woman in the Wizengamot asked.

"Indeed," Liliana replied turning to the voice, "Lady?"

"Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom," Augusta replied, her eyes slightly raised with mild interest and mild displeasure at the young lady who clearly did not show respect to the Chief Warlock.

Liliana nodded her head respectfully in her direction causing Augusta's eyebrows to rise even further at her, and then proceeded to pick up the folder next to her.

She pulled out some documents from the folder and seemed to glance over them before using her wand to send a few of the documents over to the Chief Warlock and the court officials. Albus received the documents and began to glance over it. While the documents were copies, they were certified copies from Gringotts and from various other official organizations that clearly connected the woman's lineage to the Potters. His hands shook for a moment as he tried to process how it was possible for her to not only be distantly related, but still be eligible to inherit the Potters fortune. The only conclusion he could make was that the Potters' will was read, but that was impossible. He made sure to seal their will and also read the contents. In the will that he read, there was no Liliana White listed to inherit. Yet, despite that, these documents clearly claimed otherwise.

After several long seconds of reviewing the contents, several of the officials sputtered in shock bringing more excited murmuring from the whole group.

"Pardon me, Miss White," Albus started, "Are you sure these documents are authentic?"

Liliana looked to be furious at this and spoke softly, "Would you be questioning the honor of Gringotts? I would be glad to send a request to a representative from Gringotts and inform them that you-"

"No, no," Dumbledore hastily interjected, "It is just rather unusual for them to affirm something that did not appear to be so."

Liliana slowly collected herself and looked pointedly at Dumbledore.

"Per the old laws set forth by the Golden Houses that are still in effect, a Silver House may have one from the cadet line make a claim for their Seat should a direct line declines to make a claim themselves or has died out. By that rule, which was made under magical oath and had not been revoked even with the changes of the Wizengamot today, and the claims the documents have listed, I believe that we do not have to deal with this nonsense of debating my eligibility and can finally get to the actual issues we are here to discuss?"

Many looked at her after reading the documents and discussed the situation amongst themselves until the Record Keeper stood up and addressed the room.

While the Record Keeper was a member of the Wizengamot, their primary function was to record the sessions and to keep track of the agenda, they are also in charge of being the keeper of the rules. While not a definite favorite of several more unsavory Lords and Ladies, the respect for the position was still there as they were the ones to enforce the rules when needed.

"My Lords and my Ladies," the man began. "While it is a rather antique law, it is still a valid one. The Lady White speaks the truth."

"Would you care to state specifics of the law in question?" a voice called out amongst the Wizengamot.

The Record Keeper pulled up a dusty looking book and flipped through the pages after a few moments, he began to recite the law pertaining to the situation that Liliana spoke of and confirming what she stated. If she really was as the documents claim her to be, she was within her right to claim her Seat.

With the laws cited and her line showing connection to the Potters, there was little that people can do to refute that. Some members particularly Cornelius Fudge and Dumbledore and their closest allies were furious. For quite some time, both thought of this as a great opportunity to secure control on another seat, but now an unknown made a move. While having an unknown would also have the possibility of having a potentially useful or useless ally join and tip the balance of power, the risk and effort needed to cultivate the unknown power usually outweigh the rewards unless further research is done.

Albus straightened himself and leaned back momentarily as he tried to take in what is unraveling before replying.

"I am afraid that is not how things work here, despite it being a rather ancient law, the old laws are no longer valid as-"

"Excuse me, Sir," the Record Keeper spoke up, "The old laws were not overturned and has remained to be in effect."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well despite some of the changes in regulations within the Wizengamot over the years, the ancient laws were not thrown out. While there had been new laws introduced and some taken out or changed, the ancient laws were never repelled."

Some various Houses who were of the older Houses murmured in approval at this while others grumbled a bit though seemed to do so with less anger.

Seeing that things were cooling down a bit and his options to deny the lady her Seat, it would be difficult to start another opposition argument while the room was losing momentum for him. Albus decided that he would let this go by and take care of it at the right opportunity. He knew that for now he could not use the road block on her Seat as she presented the necessary information to claim the seat through the ancient laws. The best choice was to not be as obvious in his resistance and try to appear accommodating. That may allow her to be more lenient and put him on friendlier terms with her and perhaps gain him an ally. Even if she may turn out to be a difficult ally, she would at least support the Light faction if he was successful in cultivating her.

Should she become a bother, he would simply have to find a way to remove her from her power by looking for something incriminating to pin her with.

"Very well, then let us formally open this session," Dumbledore announced and nodded.

Immediately another person in the room whom Liliana was not able to identify, began the formalities of opening the session as the members of the Wizengamot prepared for the new session.

After the formalities were over, Dumbledore spoke up.

The following half hour were of trivial things. Propositions and requests that both sides presented and argued. Albus paid specific attention to the Lady White to try and gauge her. From what he could tell, either she was not interested or she was merely being a passive observer for now.

As the last of the topics were about to close, Albus started to signal the end of the rather short session much to the joy of some members of the court when he suddenly saw Amelia Bones raising her wand, the tip of her wand lit.

"Yes, Lady Bones," Albus asked.

"I would like to inform you that we still have two more issues at hand."

Frowning, Dumbledore looked at his list.

"I beg your pardon, but you seem to be mistaken. That was all for today's session," he replied.

"We actually have two more issues at hand in regards to a criminal matter that would require the full assembled body. While I do admit the changes were rather late, it has been noted with the Record Keeper."

Albus turned towards the Record Keeper who nodded in agreement.

"Two trials were requested by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," the Record Keeper replied, "Seeing that today's schedule was rather light, the two trials have been scheduled for today."

"And what do who do we have on trial today?"

The Record Keeper looked at the scroll in slight confusion and responded slowly.

"Well, we do have a trial for Sirius Orion Black, sir."

Before Dumbledore could respond a dumpy Wizengamot member with a large black moustache stood up and shouted, "He has gotten his trial and is a convicted murderer! Let him rot in the Azkaban! Unless this is a trial to see if we should send him through the Veil or deliver him an early execution, why should we bother?"

Several members of the court gasped in shock of the man's response.

"What? I am only speaking what everyone had in their minds. Who would want such a known criminal to still be alive and still breathe the same air that we breathe knowing that he still lives?"

Amelia cleared her throat catching the man's attention and the assembled body once more to her.

"That is the issue. Sirius Black was never given a trial."

Silence ensued within the court.

"What do you mean?" Lady Longbottom inquired.

"There has been no record of giving Sirius Black a trial, even though all other convicted felons were given a trial before."

"Then let us be over with it!" The dumpy man shouted, "And then we can get over the other trial and be done with this silly issue and send Black back to where he belongs. In Azkaban!"

Several people began to murmur in agreement.

Seeing quite a few of the assembled members beginning to clamor to get this over with, Dumbledore nodded and the session resumed.

"The first order of business is the Trial of the People of Britain vs. Sirius Orion Black."

At that moment William who was sitting at one of the tables for guests that was in front of the Chief Warlock stood causing Dumbledore to pause momentarily.

"Yes, Mr.?"

"Haynes, sir. William Robert Haynes acting as legal counsel for the defendant, Sirius Orion Black, for this case," William stated bowing coolly.

"Thank you, Mr. Haynes," Dumbledore replied as look of recognition came to him, "It has been a while since I have last seen you. I believe it was since your graduation from Hogwarts, was it not? One wondered where such… talent disappeared to. I am truly glad to see you are well."

"Thank you, sir," William replied calmly, "However, I must request that you temporarily relinquish your position for today's trials."

"Oh?" said Albus.

"As a witness that will be needed to be called to the stands, per the laws of Britain, those who hold any positions within the court must relinquish their positions and/or votes should they be called to witness until the case has been resolved."

This caused quite a stir within the council as they began to wonder what Albus knew that would have him be called as a witness. Inwardly, Dumbledore frowned at that. He did not like where this was going, however, despite being displeased with this, he simply smiled outwardly.

"I do agree," And with that Minister Fudge was about to stand to take over the proceedings.

"Excuse me, sir," William called out again, this time to the Minister.

"Yes?" Cornelius Fudge glared at the man irritably.

"According to the laws and regulation, the council must appoint the Interim Chief Warlock."

"I am the Minister of Magic, I should more than suffice."

"Be as it may," William continued, "Regulations stipulates that-"

"Hem, hem," a rather familiar yet annoying voice to Liliana voiced out.

"Pardon?" William replied.

"Would it not be rather easier to simply have the lovely Minister be the Interim Chief Warlock rather than simply wasting everyone's precious time with such a ridiculous vote?"

William looked pointedly at the Record Keeper who looked rather uncomfortable before replying.

"The law specifically states that the Interim Chief Warlock must be voted in by the Wizengamot, Madame Umbridge."

Umbridge simply smiles back at the two, but it was evident she was fuming inwardly.

"For now. Very well," she simply stated before sitting.

After going back and forth on the voting, it was led down to only two possible candidates, Lord Parkinson and Lady Longbottom. After much deliberation and neither side wanting to yield Lord Parkinson irritably stepped down from the running stating that it was rather silly that they were spending a ridiculous amount of time deliberating the position for the Interim when they should get the trial over with.

With that, Lady Longbottom replaced Albus Dumbledore as Interim Chief Warlock. Albus reluctantly vacated his seat as required and left the room to await his summons.

Once the council was ready, Madame Bones motioned the trial to begin. Four Aurors manhandled two convicted men chaining them down to two conjured chairs in the center of the room with enough space in between them as a fifth Auror brought forth two vials. The identity of the two individuals brought about many excited whispering until Madame Longbottom asked for the court to be silent.

Chained to the chair was the infamous Sirius Black and a rather ratty looking man that some individuals still silently whispered and pointed at in recognition. Sirius kept sending murderous glares towards the other chained individual, but with William's urging barely kept control of his temper. He willingly took the potion when the Auror came to administer the dose to him.

At this several people began to protest at the use of the potion that many concluded was Veritaserum. Even Madame Longbottom seemed to frown at the actions of the Wizengamot, until Madame Bones spoke up.

"With the Trial for Sirius Black, Mr. Black has agreed to be questioned under Veritaserum."

William simply waited out the group for a few minutes before merely proceeding despite the continual protest of the use of the potion by a few.

The trial lasted for quite a while. When it was Pettigrew's turn, he frantically tried to fight his chains and despite stating that he was innocent, would not take the Veritaserum or state and oath to confirm his own story. William immediately pounced on the refusal as an opportunity further discrediting Pettigrew's claims.

However, as the testimonies were being drawn out and witnesses and suspects being cross-examined, fairly was becoming evident that Sirius Black was innocent and Peter Pettigrew was becoming guiltier for the crimes laid against Sirius. With some people called to witness who were requested to be questioned under oath or through Veritaserum, it became more and more apparent that it was rather foolish to think Sirius would have done what he was charged of. While many of the court were still appalled that such measures were being taken, the fact that those taking the oath or Veritaserum willingly prevented any valid argument.

What scandalized even more was when Albus Dumbledore was asked to be called as witness. As he sat in the witness box William asked out if he would make the vow to state the truth, he refused to. They provided the option to use Veritaserum as well. He flatly refused both.

"I see no reason to be questioned, nor do I see the need for taking such oaths and potions. We have not had the need to do so and there is no reason especially for me to do as you request. As the Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, my word alone should be enough."

William was about to speak when Liliana decided to snorted out loud in a rather rude manner.

"Is there something you wish to say, Lady White?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"Yes, I find it to be very suspicious as to why the Chief Warlock is so against to being questioned under an oath or Veritaserum when everyone else was willing. Perhaps he is hiding something just like Mister Pettigrew is?"

"I wish to ask you, the Chief Warlock some questions for clarification, sir. Please make a choice, sir. The use of Veritaserum or the oath has been granted for this case and as a called witness you are required to make your testimony."

Dumbledore looked at him and merely nodded and decided to give the oath. Seeing the flash of light around Dumbledore, William started his interrogation.

"May I ask how long you have been the Chief Warlock for?"

"Some time after the war."

"Which war?"

"The one on the continent."

"Are you referring to the Global Wizarding War that took place in the early 1920s and ended in 1945? When very war where you defeated Gellert Grindelwald?"

"Yes."

"And you were still the Chief Warlock in 1981?"

"I was."

"Do you know of the two convicted men before us? Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black?"

"Yes, I am familiar with them."

"According to the testimony from Sirius Black, you were the one who casted the Fidelius Charm on the Potter's residence in Godric's Hallow is that correct?"

Albus remain silent for a moment and William repeated the question once more. After a few more moments of silence Albus replied.

"… Correct."

"And was Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper?"

"We were set to have Sirius Black as the Secret Keeper," Albus replied hoping to let it blow past.

"You did not answer my question," William stated catching that.

"I believe I did I stated that we were set to have Sirius Black as the Secret Keeper."

"Please correct me if I am wrong, but you stated 'were' as in the past tense. That would imply that something changed. While it may have originally been Sirius Black, had the plans for the Secret Keeper change?

There was a pregnant pause and Dumbledore nodded.

"Please, answer in words."

"Yes."

"Do you know who the true Secret Keeper of the Potter's residence residing in Godric's Hallow during the night of the 31st of October of 1981 was?"

"… Yes."

"Were you also aware that Sirius Black was the magical guardian and godfather of Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

Voices began to whisper excitedly as Madam Longbottom used the gavel to bring order back.

"Then how come you did not take any action to free Sirius of his crimes? You has stated that you knew that he was the MAGICAL guardian of Harry Potter, you knew that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, AND you were still the Chief Warlock during that time which would mean that had Sirius Black actually received a trial, you would have to have attended or been informed of the trial. I would like to know what you were thinking."

For the first time to many within the room, Albus looked to be as old as his actual age. For a moment it seemed like before them was a man, who seemed to be exhausted from the weight of the world placed on him.

"I am an old man and it was not long after the war against Gellert that we were all fighting a second war against Voldemort," he responded earning a collective gasp at Voldemort's name. "We did not have the time nor resources to properly try every one convicted and by the time it was over it simply slipped my mind."

Anger boiled within William. As a man who championed for justice, he was upset with how nonchalant Dumbledore was about this whole situation.

"Then perhaps we should help you on the matter," Liliana called out. "After all, a Headmaster, Chief Warlock, and Supreme Mugwump are all full time occupations themselves."

The people began to whisper excitedly once more once Dumbledore was excused. After a few more questions with other witnesses, some even questioning the sanity of Sirius Black himself, and the final evidences and testimonies being presented, the Wizengamot went into a debate.

When the Wizengamot voted, only two votes, the Minister Fudge and Dolores Umbridge, voted him to still be guilty as the others raised to clear Sirius of all charges, some if somewhat hesitantly. When voting for Pettigrew's verdict, again Fudge and Umbridge were the only two to declare his innocence while the rest voted him to be guilty. At the urging from William for a harsher punishment and with the overwhelming approval of the council, Pettigrew was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss and was promptly taken away. The Aurors unshackled Sirius Black who cried as he was able to experience freedom once more and with justice finally being served. Still trying to process what had occurred, Sirius stood shock still his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Free? I am finally free?"

"Hem, hem," Dolores Umbridge intervened once more, "I believe that while Mr. Black here may be free. It would be beneficial for us to have him be seen by some professional medical help? Perhaps the mental ward at St. Mungo's would do?"

Several members of the Wizengamot blanched at that part while slowly nodding in agreement. Sirius' eyes widened even further at that.

"No! I will not be carted off into the crazy house!"

"See?" she cried gleefully, "He is unstable! As much as he should be given his full rights, with the years he spent in Azkaban, his actions could hurt us!"

Liliana whispered urgently to one of her neighbors as to why everyone cringed at the mentioning of the mental ward.

"Why young miss," an elderly gentleman replied, "While it is a mental ward to help the patient and while visitors are allowed. Nearly everyone who enters never come back."

"You mean never released?"

The elderly man nodded if a bit sadly.

At that moment, Liliana stood up, anger clearly emanating from her while the various groups began to argue back and forth on the choice.

"I believe that Lord Black had suffered enough! He does not need to be sent off. If anything, he must be back to his familiar environment! A place where he would be comfortable in to properly rest and recover, the healers could visit him instead! That ought to work!"

Albus then intervened quickly, knowing by now that the Lady White was not necessarily going to be his ally for now decided to try and cut her plans short no matter what it was.

"Regardless, for the safety of everyone else, would it not be better to have Lord Black be in a controlled environment where the healers would constantly be at watch over him? Surely the healers would be able to help the poor man, not to mention having him be released and introduced to the mass early would cause panic."

At that many began to nod in agreement even if some reluctantly. Before Liliana was able to refute the argument, Elphias called for a vote immediately. Once the Wizengamot passed their votes, the result was a mere 2 votes in favor of sending Sirius Black to the mental ward at St. Mungo's.

Sirius began to scream in outrage automatically causing one of the Aurors to stun him and have him dragged off to the hospital.

Stunned by the announcement, Liliana did not hear Umbridge quickly move the session to a close and started when Albus slammed the gavel down and signaling the end of the Wizengamot session. This left a rather shocked William and Liliana to stand motionless from where they stood as the rest of the Wizengamot exited the room.

Liliana was shocked, she thought the plan would have worked perfectly. However, all that she did was trade Sirius' location from one prison to in a sense another. Sure, he would have more freedom compared to Azkaban, but for those who are there, it was a prison regardless. Slowly as she began to gather herself, she tried to figure out just what went wrong with her plans.

If she only turned around just then, she would have seen a cloaked figure silently chuckling in the back shadows before the figure faded away from view.


	8. Exile

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** As a reminder, Liliana and Harriet are the same person. When you are reading about Harriet or seeing someone referring to Harriet, that is the young "short" one (the not adult one). Likewise when you see Liliana or someone referring to Liliana, which is the adult version that Harriet created. If I switch between the two, it is safe to assume that she has changed her appearance.

Not the best writer, speller, and not a grammar-nazi. So sorry if there are lots of issues in that area. I do proof read myself and do spell check... sadly I know that does not deal with all issues, but at least I did find a few that way. (Trust me.. my unedited chapters are horrendous at best, worse than Neville's cauldron exploding).

Reviews always appreciated. PMs are also alright as well.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Exile**

Liliana paced back and forth within the room, with three gentlemen sitting around by the table, one of them clearly trying to sooth her despite the feeling of great frustration emitted from the young woman.

Seeing that she was not about to calm down for a bit longer, Tom decided to busy himself by serving refreshments for the other three occupants of the room. The James nodded to Tom in thanks while nervously looking over a few documents while William had his face down as he massaged his temple.

"How could this have happened?" Liliana fumed.

For a while, William did not say anything letting the question go unanswered for a moment.

"I honestly did not expect things to develop this way," William professed.

Liliana halted and turned sharply towards him.

"We know that both groups do not see things eye to eye and as many within the group were of notable families, I honestly did not expect enough of them to stand united to push for that. Resistance for releasing Lord Black without proper evaluations, I would understand, but instead of a normal evaluation with the mind healers… sending him to the ward right away was rather unprecedented."

Liliana did not speak letting the silence fill the room momentarily once more.

"Considering their track record, I would say that is not much of a surprise there," James stated causing the other members of the occupants in the room to look at him in mild confusion.

"Even if the majority of those in the Ministry have changed, there are still quite a few members within the Wizengamot who were present during the time of the trials back then. Simply placing the blame on the prior administration would not work."

"You mean Bagnold's administration?"

"The very same," James acknowledged, "Despite many from the former administration no longer holds and position of power, their remnants of their influence still remain amongst the factions. Such would be folks who supported the old administration and even helped to deal with many issues that the previous administration had done. With those who were under now in charge, you could see it begins to make sense that there would be quite a few who would rather simply shove this whole situation under the rug."

Liliana pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed. The whole ordeal was giving her a headache as it was not going as she originally planned. She was hoping to free Sirius, actually give him a chance to live and enjoy his life as a free man, and to actually this time around have a proper relationship with her godfather…

 _Well… not really my godfather as Professor Lupin is my godfather this time around._

Despite that technicality, Sirius was her godfather back in her time and she fully intended to this time make sure that both Sirius and Lupin would enjoy their lives more.

Liliana shook her head slightly.

 _One thing at a time._

"So, by forcing a trial for Sirius, I simply stirred the hornet's nest," she stated coming back to the conversation as she slowly reached out to pull a chair for herself to sit.

"To put it lightly. Yes," William replied.

As the silence ensued, Tom grabbed a seat himself looking at the other three in uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I may have a suggestion," Tom spoke up softly.

The other three occupants of the room turned to him with mixed expressions.

"I will confess that it is rather somewhat hard to get used to that the man is innocent," he began and raised his hands as Liliana was about to speak up, "Nearly everyone has thought for many years that Sirius Black was one of You-Know-Who's top followers. This idea of even trying to release him immediately or as soon as possible, may not even sit well with the people even with the Wizengamot's blessing. In fact, with ten years of fear of that man, would it truly be beneficial to have him roam about the streets of London?"

"What do you mean," Liliana spoke softly as her eyes slowly focused into a glare at Tom. While she may have come to respect Tom, the way he spoke sounded as if he supported to keep Sirius locked away.

Tom grimaced a bit indicating that he was well aware of Liliana's ire.

"What I mean is, that Britain may not be his home anymore."

"WHAT?" Liliana screamed jumping out from her seat.

"We may have to consider that even with a pardon from the Wizengamot, Sirius Black may not be welcome back as an upstanding citizen by the people themselves. I must confess, I still have some unease when I hear of the man's name regardless of the fact that I now know he is innocent. Still, people have grown to fear him and his family and all it stood for, the black mark on his family name even if misplaced on him would still deny him the chance to assimilate with the people. It would be an easier solution for him to not even try to assimilate with the people," Tom replied.

"You mean to exile him?" she asked aghast.

"Perha-"

"A transfer," James spoke up, causing Lilian to halt before anything else would be done. This caused her to whip around to face James.

"It may be possible to have him be transferred to another hospital," he stated, "One where he will not be under the Wizengamot's control. At least they would have a much difficulty controlling him then."

William brightened a bit at that notion.

"Well, it certainly is an angle we could pursue," he began, "We could see if he could be transferred to another country. Perhaps France or Germany to be close by. Australia or even America could be possibly alternatives. From there, we could finally work on expediting his release from their hospital and truly grant him his freedom. Of course, regardless of the outcome, for him to return to Britain would still have some difficulties, it can be doable, but will take time."

"At least he will be free that much sooner," James responded with the other two nodding slowly in agreement.

Liliana's heart sank. While she would may be able to free Sirius, it would be at the cost of isolating him and not being there with him unless she herself moved as well. Unfortunately, her moving out of country was not part of her plan.

'I-I think I will need to think about this," she concluded heavily after some moment.

William nodded in understanding, "I will see if I can at least prepare to draft the necessary paperwork and James?"

James inclined his head in acknowledgement, "Will get you what you need to get started. In the meantime, I still have something else I also need to work on. Then this is where I will take my leave then."

After James left, the other three exchanged some brief words before William departed leaving only Tom and Liliana.

"Why?" she asked after a few moment causing Tom to halt as he cleaned the table, "Why did you suggest to have him leave his home? His country?"

Tom turned to look at her and let out a soft sigh.

"You would have been too young to even remember," Tom began, "The war was not something that many of you younger folks would understand. Unlike the war on the continent, which many of us were fortunate to experience from afar, this one was right within everyone's homes."

Tom slowly took a seat and looked away from Liliana. His gaze held a faraway look as if recalling memories of his past.

"While one may be fairly certain on who was on whose side, it was never truly known for sure. Only a few were truly known to have openly announce their position publicly. The rest, it was… difficult. Those you thought were friends or family turned out to be the one to turn on you. Those who you thought were the enemy were in fact… innocent. At least to you. Trust became a rare commodity even within family. People tend to disappear only to reappear dead elsewhere. And the ones that turned out to be dead and the remains found regardless of how the body came back were the fortunate ones. There had been many that disappeared only to never reappear again. And who knows what happened to them? It also did not help that power and Galleons also exchanged hands back and forth quite often."

Liliana looked at him, this was not news to her. She knew about the fact that many former Death Eaters used their power, wealth, and influence to avoid being thrown into prison. But what Tom said next helped open her eyes a bit more.

"Yes, while many were captured and quite a few of them were shortly released either through outside help or pardoned later. Many of them still tried to hold the illusion that they were innocent. I admit even now it is still difficult to determine who were truly innocent of those that were pardoned. Several of the families even helped other families out and there are a few of the families that would be considered in the Light faction that faced such pardons as well. It was the few that simply did not care to not use their wealth and influence that were clear on their stance. Such people truly struck fear to many. One such family were the Lestrange."

Tom then leaned forward propping his head with his hands as his eyes closed various emotions ranging from anger to sadness to despair evident on his face with no indication that he saw Liliana staring at him.

"They were the kind that did not care if they were exposed. They did not care who stood in their way. The only thing that mattered to them was his cause. While it may be more reasonable to fear those who hide in the darkness, the sheer power, the ruthless methods that the Lestranges used overshadowed all that."

"The deeds they performed caused many to prefer facing death by other Death Eaters. After all, they did not suffer as much as those who faced them," Tom elaborated tears slowly forming in his eyes.

"And so, the ones who were known no longer had to hide and decided not to hold back their sadistic nature. They were monsters who took pleasure in assaulting, torturing, and murdering others in front of their loved ones. The type of monsters who would force family members to assault their own family and friends as they cheered you on while having their way with your wife and children, later to force you and your wife to strangle your own children to death!"

It hit Liliana. Tom was not just merely explaining things to her as if the information was secondhand. He was explaining it to her from his personal experience. Immediately she got up and hugged Tom patting him gently causing silent tears to cascade.

For a long while, the only sound that came was the small gentle pat on the back and the silent cries of a grown man.

"It is because of that, Sirius Black was also feared," he spoke once more as he began to slowly extract himself from her embrace and regain his composure, wiping the remaining tears.

"The fact that he is related to one of them, and the fact that he was seen laughing with destruction around him by the Aurors, frightened many including myself. I will admit, when you first approached me about this, it was difficult. However, as he is innocent, he should be free. Yet, there are many who suffered like I have. Some less, some more. While I know now that he is free of blame, regardless of what happens now, the family name Black will forever hold a dark mark, a dark meaning for many generations."

Tom reached out and held onto her shoulders and he looked at her.

"That is why I meant that Britain may not be his home anymore. It will take time, but as for exactly how long it would take, I cannot say. Only that it may be well after our time that things would be different."

Liliana nodded slowly in understanding. Tom was right, even with the Wizengamot announcing that Sirius was innocent, that would neither quickly nor completely wipe away the fear that garnered over the years. Still, having people live in constant fear and having him suffer from further isolation would not be a life for him.

 _But it is not necessarily my choice is it?_

The decision would have to come down to Sirius.

"Thank you, Tom," Liliana spoke, "I-I never thought-"

"Thank you for listening, Harriet," Tom replied pulling her into another hug.

A smile crept up a bit as she returned his embrace, "Always."

* * *

The following few days after the Wizengamot, Harriet stopped by the apothecary in Knockturn Alley to collect some her next large batch of aging potions. She also received several letters of invitation to meet with various Houses and on occasion invited to a party as well. While she originally thought to decline after the ordeal from the latest Wizengamot session, she knew that she had to establish her connection to try and avoid such issues from occurring if possible. She attended two parties and met up with a few that she thought would be good to be connected with.

She met with Arthur Weasley and had a lovely time chatting about muggle technology, although she was a bit frustrated with his lack of knowledge despite him being the Head of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. While it was nice to see him be the same enthusiastic man that she remember him to be, the poor man was clearly out of his depths in understanding Muggles and their technology.

Unfortunately, while she herself lived with Muggles in her previous life, she recalled that she was definitely out of touch of the Muggle world herself when she spoke with a few Muggleborns back at Hogwarts. Football and various general things she knew, but as for cultural and fashion trends, what was new and going on, unless Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia mentioned it while she was nearby, she did not know much of what happened. In fact, she did not know about the fall of the Berlin Wall until much later!

In the end, she informed Arthur that she would try and be in touch and following Hermione's course of action recommended that he visit a muggle library for more information.

Liliana also spoke with Lord and Lady Greengrass and had a lovely chat with them and regards to various policies. Despite coming from a dark traditionalist family, the family were opportunists and were some of the few families willing to branch out further than their own groups. Augusta Longbottom was a very interesting person to meet and Neville looked very nervous when she met him as well. She recalled him being the timid boy who later turned into a rather brave soul, but as to where his timid nature came from was rather clear. Down the line she met many others and promised to find time to meet with them when possible.

Over the remaining days before the departure for Hogwarts, she kept in touch with William to see if there were any new developments. Sadly, William stated that he was facing quite a few roadblocks, but have been doing his best to get things going quietly. He stated that at the earliest, they might be able to transfer Sirius before the end of the year, but that would be pushing it. Despite wanting to free him as soon as possible, she knew that there would be more trouble if they were careless and both agreed to err on the side of caution and take more time if need.

James turned out to be searching for her godfather, Remus, and was having some difficulties. The only conclusive news was that he was clearly out of the country. With that, James looked to broadening his search to see if he could hopefully locate him on the continent.

"Perhaps, the news of his friend's innocence may help with our search. There is a chance that he may come back to verify himself," James stated, trying his best to comfort Liliana.

She sighed and nodded. At the moment there was not much she could do. The only other person who may even know where he was that Liliana knew of would be Remus. Merlin knows they did try reaching by owl post before and that ended with the owl coming back right to them with the very note they sent. With the promise to keep in touch and James assurance that he will continue the search, the two parted ways.

When time permitted, Harriet looked over some of her own properties. She managed to meet few of her house elves and organized them all to handle and maintain the various properties she owned so they were at least not falling in disrepair with instructions to organize any other house elves that may be in her employ that she was unaware of. She did know that she needed more time to deal with her properties, but based on her priorities, while they are important, her properties were not in the moment her highest of priorities. Not to mention that it would require quite a bit of her undivided attention for quite some time for her to deal with the issues. All she could do was consolidate a bit, focus on a few agendas and let things run and pray it held until the next time she actually had time to deal with all of it. Even with the help of Granrod and Bankrat from Gringotts and even with their pay and the help of the elves did not help her to completely sort through everything.

With her businesses and properties somewhat dealt with Harriet stopping by Flourish and Blotts and purchasing some more books, remembering the first moment of Neville losing his pet toad, she decided to Magical Menagerie and buy a small cage for it just in case he lost it once more. She finished the last of her preparations for Hogwarts and decided to head off to bed early. Despite trying to sleep early, sleep was quite elusive that night. With the excitement of Hogwarts, the stress from her family businesses, and dealing with quite a few people, it was a while before Harriet finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I want to thank everyone for their patience. Critiques and feedback are always appreciated. I do not mind flames, and I do not mind compliments. I know that for some part of the story (like chapter 6) many were not happy and I get it. Others not happy about main character being OP and I understand that as well. Regardless, whether you like the story or not, to those who gave me feedback, I truly appreciate it. I do read them and while I like to respond to each and every one, I will admit that as time goes by, it will be more difficult for me to respond to everyone. Does not help that my personal life has been getting busier. Also! For those noticing grammar/spelling issues! Please feel free to note and tell me. I am actually not a very good writer and I believe that feedbacks is what helps to make one improve. I do try and proof read and even use the spell check and all that, but that will not make the story without flaws. Still, anything you notice, would be glad to note.

Regardless, thank you for the continued support.


	9. Home

**DISCLAIMER:** The story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, and various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, etc. This story is intended as a fan made story and no money is being made. No trademark and copyright infringement is intended.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hello! It has been a while. Thank you all for your patience. Really wish that I could be a lot more proactive in typing. However, after writing reports at work all the time, writing storylines for my D&D groups, and etc. the last thing I usually like to do is to write/type… again. Anyways, thanks for the reviews. I will try to respond back to the responses, but please understand I might not be able to respond to each one of you individually.

Regardless, reviews are always appreciated. PMs are also alright as well. Please excuse all my spelling and grammar. I do check my work before posting and also spell check this, but as you know even just proof reading something quickly and having Word check for you quickly does not fix all issues. Still, if there are any issues, feel free to leave a comment or message about it.

As a reminder, Liliana and Harriet are the same person. When you are reading about Harriet or seeing someone referring to Harriet, that is the young "short" one (the not adult one). Likewise when you see Liliana or someone referring to Liliana, which is the adult version that Harriet created. If I switch between the two, it is safe to assume that she has changed her appearance. This chapter though, you should not have to worry about that as this marks the beginning of the Hogwarts chapter (finally).

As for the "fake" chapter I know some of you did not like and even requested it to be removed… please note I did state on the chapter title, the Chapter number, and also in the Author's Note warning. If it was not your cup of tea, I am sorry and hope the chapter that followed was better.

But enough of this. Onwards!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8 - Home**

The morning found Harriet up and ready with everything cleaned, packed, and ready to go. Other than Hedwig's cage, and an old book titled _Basic Principles of Potions and its Effects by Xenon Karl_ , she packed everything else in her special trunk and shrunk it stowed it into her pocket. She walked down carrying Hedwig and her cage with a shrunken toad cage inside of Hedwig's cage. Hedwig loved to roam about and Harriet bonded with her owl once more. However, she told Hedwig that while she does not mind the owl roaming about, there would be times where she will need to be in a cage, even if temporarily. Hedwig affectionately preened her hair and acted as if she understood. For now, Hedwig was sitting on her shoulder as Harriet carried the cage downstairs.

Tom prepared a special meal for her for that morning and as she ate, the staff and some of the regulars she came to be close to dropped by to wish her luck. Over the summer, with Harriet spending quite a bit of time at the establishment, many of the regulars came to treat her as family. It was particularly embarrassing when one of the elderly witch, who took it upon herself to be the mother hen, tease Harriet about how her "daughter" was all grown up.

Thoroughly embarrassed much to everyone's amusement, Harriet quickly finished up the last of her breakfast as the impromptu farewell party came to an end. As the staff began to clear the plates, Tom walked over to Harriet, embracing her. She in turn hugged Tom back fiercely.

"Remember, Harriet," he said as he held her affectionately as a father would to his child, "You always have a home here."

"Thank you, Tom," Harriet replied backed as he let her go and gave her a shooing motion tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Now, off with you! Children like you need to go make friends your own age and get into some mischief!" Tom teased gently pulling from the hug.

Giggling, she wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Tom another quick hug before helping Hedwig into her cage. Walking to the fireplace, she turned to give a final farewell and used the Floo to King's Cross Station.

Harriet arrival was known to the other witches and wizards who saw her unceremoniously roll out from the fireplace upon her arrival King's Cross Station. Blushing furiously, she quickly gathered herself up muttering to herself about the stupid Floo network.

"Are you alright dear?" a young man's voice asked.

Harriet froze at the familiar voice that she had not heard in a while before nodded looking very much embarrassed as she tried to dust herself off.

"Here, let me," the voice spoke again. All of a sudden Harriet felt as if a wave washed over her as the remaining dust that was still stuck on her disappeared.

"Thank you," Harriet replied as she turned towards the person a bit embarrassed about the person witnessing the whole debacle and even helping to remove the rest of the dirt from her.

"Oliver?"

The burly young man standing before her, otherwise known as Oliver Wood, looked at her in surprise as she stated his name.

"Uh, have we met?" he asked quite taken aback at a young witch knowing his name.

Harriet quickly shook her head.

"No, actually heard about you from other students. They mentioned about you while talking about Quidditch."

Harriet noted a glint of excitement as Oliver nodded at the mention of Quidditch. This eventually lead to introductions and eventually him helping Harriet through the entrance of Platform 9 ¾ and securing a compartment for her. The whole while the two spoke to each other animatedly, one finding a fellow student who knew a lot about Quidditch and the other who is secretly happy to meet one of her friends who was in some ways an older brother to her in her previous life.

"By the way," where is your luggage?" Oliver asked, "Surely you are not just bringing the two cages?"

Grinning, Harriet, put down the two cages and pulled out her luggage from her pocket causing Oliver to whistle, clearly impressed.

"Well I'll be..." he exclaimed, "Clearly you are a little princess considering you have one of these."

"What?"

"Your luggage," Oliver stated, "Not many have such, especially not a first year."

Harriet only grinned back at his response causing Oliver to shake his head a bit. He did turn a bit more serious though as he spoke up again.

"I would be careful if I were you."

"How come?" Harriet asked.

"If you happen to have some rather valuable items, that may cause some jealousy with other students and they might cause you some trouble."

Inwardly, Harriet groaned upon Oliver's observation.

 _Damn it, he is right._ While Harriet knew that having such a luggage would be beneficial, it does rather scream rich girl and would also set others off either in good or bad ways. Her clothing alone, while not exactly screaming brand name, even subtle, was still of rather fine quality.

Harriet did unshrink her luggage as Oliver offered to help stow her belongings away.

"Well," Oliver stated as Harriet settled in as he hoisted her luggage overhead, "I'm best get going. Again, if you need any help feel free to ask any of the Prefects they have-"

"The Prefect Badge on their robes," she responded back almost rolling her eyes as Oliver mentioned that twice before in their conversation.

Oliver grinned back at her noting her response, "And feel free to also ask me if you need anything, little squirt."

"Hey!" Harriet yelled back in mock anger at him making fun of her height.

"Oh, right," he stated, "Princess Squirt."

Oliver laughed good naturedly at her glaring at him and after giving her a final wave walked down the hallway leaving Harriet alone in the compartment.

She sat back in her seat and looked out the window seeing the She looked at the time at the station and realized she had plenty of time. With just about half an hour before departure, Harriet opened the cage and let Hedwig out. She then put her feet up and pulled out _Basic Principles of Potions and its Effects_ which explained basics of various types of potions. Hedwig walked up to her and hooted softly while butting her head against Harriet. She absentmindedly reached out with one hand and scratched Hedwig on the head. In bliss Hedwig closer her eyes and further leaned in, half laying over Harriet.

The two enjoyed the few minutes of bliss until she heard the door to her compartment open causing her to look up. It was Draco and a few other first year students. Draco's eyes widened quite a bit when he realized that the compartment was actually not empty and who the current inhabitant was.

She noted the page she was on and closed her book as Hedwig got off of her and landed on the seats across from her. Hedwig ruffled her feathers and snapped her beak at the intruders obviously disgruntled at them for intruding suddenly. After sitting up slowly Harriet gave Draco a smile as he stared at her in surprise. Behind him were future Slytherins that she recognized as Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini.

Inwardly, she groaned, she recalled the constant bullying the Slytherins caused. While she did hope to meet with them and try to change things, this was a bit sooner than expected.

 _Better now than never, I guess…_

"Good morning, Mister Malfoy," she said offering him a polite smile. "I hope you have been well since I last saw you?"

Draco merely nodded and looked mildly uncomfortable. Theodore Nott noticing that this pretty girl was making Draco speechless, and apparently someone he knew was quite intrigued and put himself forward immediately introduced himself.

"Good morning, miss," Theodore smiling at Harriet. "Theodore Nott from the Noble and Ancient House of Nott. It is a pleasure to see a wondrous lady such as yourself leaving behind my friend, Draco here speechless."

Pansy shot her a look of jealously at that which Harriet simply ignored and giggled at his introduction. She then slowly stood and curtseyed to him.

"The pleasure is mine, Young Lord Nott."

"Please, call me Theo."

"Thank you, Theo."

She smiled at the others and greeted them as well even with Pansy, who grudgingly introduced herself.

"Would you be able to grace us with your name?" Theodore asked.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself sooner, Theo," Harriet replied. "My name is Harriet."

"Harriet?" Theo pressed. Clearly trying to get her last name.

"I would rather it wait until the Sorting as I would like it to be a surprise."

"Probably a Mudblood," Pansy murmured at the same time as Blaise rather supposedly friendly demeanour turned neutral.

Immediately Pansy saw a wand pointed right at her. Harriet had her wand trained ready to fire off a spell against her if need. Pansy gave a slight meep as the rest of the boys after a painful second began to fumble for their own wands.

"I would advise you to watch what you say, or do. If not, someone will get hurt," Harriet noted calmly while looking pointed at Pansy.

Draco watched her with growing interest, who was this mystery girl who seemed to handle things so calmly? While at first he also did not have the best first meeting with her, the information he has learned over the summer and her attitude began to intrigue her. It was apparent that the girl was not as welcoming to them with the recently slight hostility shown. He decided to play along with her game of hiding information and find out later who she really was.

"Pansy, she is from a Noble and Ancient House, I can vouch for that. Father stated so."

He noticed Harriet start a bit at that news and saw her eyes narrow in suspicion as she looked at him. Draco smirked and decided to take a step back out of the cabin. The rest looked at Draco rather confused, but slowly backed out as well the potential hostile atmosphere diminishing.

"We will leave you to your privacy then. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Harriet," Draco stated. "I am fairly certain we shall see each other often."

"I look forward to it," she replied smiling back towards him.

"Until then."

Harriet nodded and watched the others leave and saying goodbye in varying degrees of friendliness.

After seeing the door close shut, Harriet slumped back into her seat, her smile disappearing.

 _Well that actually went well_. She thought. _At least I am on the friendlier side with the Slytherins compared to last time. Despite having a horrible start with them, yet again_.

She looked out towards the platform and noticed it bustling with families sending off their children to Hogwarts. She recognized Lord and Lady Greengrass waving to a young girl as she boarded the train with another girl. She noticed that more and more were getting onto the train. Harriet continued to gaze out of her window when she thought she saw a familiar brown haired girl. Before she could pay more attention, a knock on the door interrupted her causing her to instead turn towards the doorway once more. The door slowly opened revealing the two girls she just saw momentarily peering into the compartment.

"Excuse me, but may we share this compartment with you?" the girl asked. Daphne Greengrass was her name and the other, if Harriet remembered correctly, was her friend, Tracey Davis.

Harriet nodded and gave them a smile. "Sure, feel free to take a seat."

She motioned to Hedwig who hooted once more and flew up to her cage and hopped into it. Harriet did not bother to close the cage but instead reached up to give her another affectionate pat and grabbed the shrunken toad cage.

Daphne and Tracey looked at her in shock. They have seen several well behaved owls, but never one that shown such intelligence.

"That is my owl, Hedwig," Harriet stated proudly. "Oh, do you need help with your trunks?"

They thanked her for her help and the three managed to get their luggage stowed away.

While it was a bit of a struggle for the three girls to get the luggage to be put on the top compartment, they eventually managed and took their seats after the short ordeal.

The three introduced themselves with each other, with Harriet omitting her last name, and talked briefly for a moment and looked out the window as the train gave the five minute warning. Just then, they noted from their window several red heads popping onto the platform and made a dash to the train.

"Weasleys," Daphne said with a slight disdain.

"Oh the large family of red heads," Harriet replied. "I heard the twins are fun to hang around."

Tracey made a face, but shrugged. "As long as they don't try to prank me, I have no quarrel with them."

"Prank?" Harriet asked trying to look confused.

Daphne and Tracey went into detail about the Weasley twins. Apparently, their notoriety for pranks were well known even outside of Hogwarts, almost as infamous in their own ways as the Marauders were during their time. Within a few minutes, the train then slowly pulled out of the station and Daphne and Tracey looked out once more to say goodbye to their parents. As the platform disappeared from view the three girls leaned back and relaxed trying to ignore the noise of other students moving about in the hallway looking for spare compartments.

"Have you seen a toad?" she heard a familiar male voice that was muffled by the door call out.

"No," replied another familiar feminine voice. "But, I can help you look for it."

She immediately got up and opened the door to see a rather quiet looking boy talking to a girl with bushy brown hair. The two stopped, looking quite startled, seeing the door next to them suddenly open. Harriet immediately pulled her wand out and looked down the hallway.

" _Accio_ toad," Harriet called out with a wave of her wand.

Suddenly they heard some girls screaming as a figure of a toad flew by some girls. A few moments later, Harriet had the toad in her hand. She put gave Neville the toad who gratefully accepted the toad and thanked her.

Harriet pulled the toad cage out and with Neville's help they put the toad, Trevor, into the cage.

"Next time, make sure to keep your toad locked up especially when you are moving about," Harriet said.

"Thank you," Neville muttered clearly embarrassed.

"I'm Harriet by the way," Harriet said as she put her hand out for Neville to shake trying her best to not break down or smile like a fool.

"Neville Longbottom."

Harriet also looked to the familiar bushy haired girl.

"Hermione Granger."

"Pleasure to meet you both," she replied smiling at them both shaking both their hands. By then Daphne and Tracey got up to also introduce themselves. Harriet saw that Hermione still had her trunk in the walkway.

"Are you looking for a compartment? We still have room in ours if you are interested." Harriet offered and also turned towards Neville with a look of encouragement as well.

Both graciously accepted and moved their luggage into the compartment. As the two newcomers began to settle themselves and Neville bringing his luggage in from further down the hallway, Harriet could not help but steal glances at the two. They stuck by Harry in Harriet's previous life. In fact, Hermione even was willing to _Obliviate_ her own parents to help Harry and to protect her own family. It was a very extreme move, but it proved just how far Hermione was willing to protect what she believed in and loved.

"Are you alright?" Harriet heard a voice ask. She turned to notice that Tracey was the one who asked the question while the other occupants in the room stilled for a moment.

Realizing that tears were welling up in her eyes, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled back, "Never better."

While the others did looking at her in a questioning manner for a moment, they were soon joined by another boy who was looking for a compartment with room to sit. He introduced himself as Ernest Macmillan.

"But you can call me Ernie," he replied with a smile. While the compartment was getting rather crowded, current occupants shifted a bit to let him in and began to talk with one another. As they all introduced themselves once more, it became obvious to Hermione that she was the outsider as everyone else grew up in the magical world. While she read all about the magical world, Harriet watched in amusement as Hermione was being told that not all books do not contain the answers nor are they always correct by the other two ladies in the compartment. This led to a debate between her and the rest of the group who quickly realized that she was a know-it-all.

"If they are not factual information, then why would it be published?" Hermione asked.

"Quoting Walter Benjamin," Harriet responded. "History is written by the victors, Hermione. Those in charge during the time or whoever can publish the books can print out what they wish to be as truth."

"Walter Benjamin?" Neville asked very much confused. Inwardly, Harriet cheered for Neville asking a question and not just shying away from the conversation.

"Supposedly a Muggle philosopher who existed in the early 1900s," Harriet supplied smiling back at him.

Hermione sat thinking letting the information soak in. Harriet decided to press on with the information.

"Going back one topic, a great example is Gilderoy Lockhart."

That brought a collected gasp from the group, all varying from shock to disbelief leading to a few minutes of heated argument about the validity of his works. Despite the minor frustrations that Harriet expected to face, particularly from the ladies of the group, Harriet went on to explain that there were some things that were off with his works and mentioned there is a group that found much of his works and achievements were stolen from others. If such information could be faked and stolen, how much credibility is there truly on books should thing can occur easily?

As the argument died down, it went back to the group, and Harriet mainly, giving a crash course and trying to hammer home that while books are great, they cannot be reliable one hundred percent of the time. Even towards the end of the argument, Hermione did not seem to be completely convinced and the girls while more thoughtful about the situation with Lockhart, seemed to still hold some reservations.

Harriet sighed inwardly. She knew about how stubborn her friend could be when she is adamant about something, but at least Hermione did not seem to have completely disregard their argument. It would take time, one Harriet just knew would take a while, a very long while.

At that moment, the lady with the trolley arrived and offered the group snacks and drinks from the cart. Harriet immediately pulled out her bag and poured out several Galleons stating that she is going to pay and asked if anyone wanted anything before the others voiced their protest. She urged others to get something, while all of them were hesitant, they each picked out some snacks and a drink or two and thanked Harriet for it. They also thanked the trolley lady, who gave them a smile and pushed the cart down the walkway.

 _Definitely unlike Ron_. She thought. When Ron met Harry and he offered, Ron immediately jumped in and asked for everything on the cart and scarfed it all down without even bothering to ask Harry if he wanted to try some. Sure Harry got some snacks for himself, but some courtesy would have been nice.

Just as the lady left, the door opened again and a familiar red haired boy looked in with a rather lonesome expression on his face.

Neville looked up and smiled a bit at the red haired boy and gave him a soft hello.

"Neville, right? Can I join you guys? Everywhere else is full," the red hair boy asked while his eyes darted a bit around the room until it rest on a small pile of snacks.

The group looked around, they were already pretty full and clearly had no room to accommodate another student, unless someone did not mind sitting in the aisle. Harriet watched as she saw Ron looking at the snacks with greed. She knew that Ron was a glutton but to walk into a group that bought a lot of snacks and hoping to get some free snacks was pushing it. Also despite her anger against Ron, she thought since several Slytherins were actually decent to her, maybe Ron would be nicer if she kept him at a careful distance and slowly let him become friends with her. However, she was not in the mood to deal with him throughout the ride.

"Sorry," Harriet replied trying to look regretful, but willing to compromise. "But our compartment is kind full. If you like you could bring your trunk in and take a seat on it in the aisle. We could try and make room that way for you."

While the others were slightly, miffed about getting into a cramped space, they were willing to make room for Ron to bring in his luggage and for him to squeeze in with them.

"Oh that's alright. Neville, be a good chap and help me make room."

Neville looked around in confusion. Hermione, Tracey, and Daphne sat on one side of the compartment while he, Ernie, and Harriet sat on the other side. While there was still some room between them, trying to squeeze another student would make it rather uncomfortable. It would still be doable as they were still only First Years, but the realistically, there was no extra room even if they tried to squeeze in together for a long trip.

"You know that this compartment won't be able to take more than six," Hermione stated looking a bit worried, "seven or eight depending on if we have people sitting in the aisle, but that would be rather dangerous is something happens."

"If you are uncomfortable with that, maybe you can join us next time?" Harriet added.

Ron completely ignore the suggestion and looked at Neville. "Neville, help me the snake out and then there will be enough seats."

"Pardon?" Daphne asked her voice calm but her eyes showing the complete opposite. Harriet knew this was not going to be good and slowly got ready.

Ron looked right as her and smirked.

"Yeah, I meant you. Greengrass, right? Your family are all evil snakes. We don't need people like you around here. Besides you think you can still move about and do whatever you like after You-Know-Who is gone? Think again."

"What?" several voices shouted out in outrage.

Ron looked at everyone apparently confused at why they were upset.

"Well, her family are Slytherin and she will be one too! And you know you can't trust a snake! They are evil! They helped support You-Know- Who! In fact, Neville, I don't know why you hang out with them. Your grandmother would be disappointed in you."

That upset Harriet, particularly when she saw Neville immediately withdrawing once more. She immediately drew her wand out and pointed it at him.

" _Stupefy_!"

Before Ron realized what happened, he immediately slumped over as the stunner hit him. The group watched in shock for a moment at what happened. Ernie was the first to recover and pushed Ron out the door with Neville helping shortly after. They closed the door and locked it to prevent him from trying to get back in.

Daphne was quite upset with the whole situation, but like the others she momentarily forgot about Ron's rude behaviour, after the others consoled her, and looked at Harriet in awe.

"How did you do that? That is not a something we learn until much later! In fact, when you also used that spell to summon Neville's toad! That is some advance magic!"

Harriet put her wand away and calmly replied back to her.

"I did learn some spells beforehand from some friends. As for the Stunning Spell, apparently it is great to use against those who are trying to harass you as well. Besides I actually like snakes."

They heard a disgruntled hoot above as they all looked up and saw Hedwig glaring at Harriet with that comment.

That brought a laughter from the group and they continued to chat, quickly forgetting about the debacle that occurred before as Harriet spent quite a few minutes asking Hedwig for forgiveness and praising her owl to get back to her good graces.

They spent the remainder of time discussing what House they will be when they join their House. Ernie wanted to join Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff as most of his family came from those Houses. Neville stated that he had to get in Gryffindor or his grandmother would disown him, giving sympathetic looks from the group as they tried to cheer him up. Tracey and Daphne stated that while their family were from Slytherin, they would not mind being in Ravenclaw though they cannot imagine being in Gryffindor.

"Those bloody meat bags are usually the first ones to head into trouble," she muttered causing many to laugh, including Neville.

Hermione stated that she was considering Gryffindor, mainly because Dumbledore was a Gryffindor himself and did consider Ravenclaw as a secondary choice. Daphne and Tracey mock shuddered and pleaded to her stating if she ever was selected as a Gryffindor to not continue studying and not be a mindless jock to which Hermione looked horrified at that as well.

Everyone was surprised when Harriet stated that she really did not have a preference.

"Oh come on," Ernie exclaimed. "You should have at least one House that you prefer over the other."

Harriet shrugged. "I know that many of my family were Gryffindors, but we also had a few Ravenclaws and Slytherins as well. There was the odd Hufflepuff or two in our lines. But…. There really is not one House that I would actually have a preference with. Maybe Gryffindor just because of the majority of the family is from there, but I do not feel like a Gryffindor."

"Well," Daphne interjected. "We shall see what House you will be Sorted into shortly. Promises to everyone that we will still remain at least civil or continue our friendship no matter what House we get Sorted into?"

The others nodded in agreement. While some, like Tracey and Daphne, knew each other beforehand, they were in a sense the first people they met in their first year.

They were notified that they were a few minutes out from Hogwarts. So the guys left the compartment and the girls started the change. Harriet was about to leave out of habit but realized she was a girl. A bit embarrassed, she turned away from others while she changes and gave the other girls some privacy as well. The other girls thought she was just being shy and teased her a bit stating that while she was willing to take action and deal with problems like the Weasley boy, she was embarrassed about changing in front of others.

Harriet let it go for now and just took the teasing in good humour.

When they finished, they walked out and let the boys change in the compartments. Once they were done as well, the girls descended on the boys and made sure that they looked presentable and then gathered their belongings. They cleaned up and made sure their compartment was orderly and waited for the train to stop.

The sun was already setting as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. And they promptly got out when informed by the Prefects. As they crowded onto the station and wondered about a bit, they heard a voice over the distance bellowing towards them.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Leave the luggage here! Yer luggage will be sent ter yer rooms!"

Some of the First Year students already gathered around the large man as Harriet and her group made their way to him.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Harriet smiled seeing the giant man with a bearded face waving at the students. It was Hagrid.

She and her group joined the other first years and were led down a path to some boats by the lake. Hagrid instructed the first years to form groups of four. Harriet motioned Neville, Hermione, Tracey, and Daphne as she and Ernie joined two other girls in another boat right behind them. The two girls introduced themselves as Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. They immediately got along and were speaking until the boats started moving. The students looked around in amazement, seeing their surroundings. With the sun fully set, and the stairs slowly appearing, the place looked majestic. What totally blew them all away was the looming figure of Hogwarts as they neared it. While Harry remember seeing it before, the sight of seeing Hogwarts like this still amazed him.

And so, the boats slowly travelled towards Hogwarts, carrying the future students to their first year of school.

For Harriet, Hogwarts was more than just a school for her, it was where she met many friends, and it was where she experienced many things in her life. In all sense, it was where she became a family with some. For Harriet, she was finally… home.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Nearly a year and a half has passed since I last updated. I will admit I have been a horrible person on that. While it has been a while I am determined to try and bring this one out a little bit at a time. But yes, Harriet/Harry has finally arrived to Hogwarts. She is finally home. Reviews and feedback always appreciated. If there is anything you do not like please inform me as to why. If any issues spelling and/or grammar also please feel free to notify me on this. Other than the usual basic reviewing on my own, there really is not much else I do to edit.

For those who have been waiting for a long time, thank you all again for your patience and support! Wishing you all a great time! Many thanks!


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